Fate: The Marble Pieces
by Dragon2920
Summary: When all the Marbles are brought together, they open the door. The door to the world, opposite of ours. They must be placed in their selected spots and they must release their element. But these Marbles are hidden away inside eleven different girls. Those girls have been trained for this day. The day when someone would activate their tale.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

"Hurry child! You must run now! All of you must! Into different Regions, come up with a life story for yourself! Do not forget what you are or what you have learned! It is imperative! Never stay in one place for too long. Make sure you can definitely absolutely trust someone before you tell them anything real! Make everything about you fake. Breeze! You first! Full name, hometown and family." The Elder rushed. 11 girls were lined up in front of her. The Elder first turned to Breeze, a young long-haired blonde girl with deep blue eyes and expensive looking clothes that the Elder had made herself. Gripped in the girl's hand was a small silver flute, a good bye present from her sisters since she was the youngest and the saddest about leaving her siblings. "Miko Banderest. Pallet Town, Kanto. My mom died in a car crash. My dad disappeared after her death. No siblings." She recited. The Elder nodded in approval and Breeze, now known as Miko, stepped to the side to wait. The Elder nodded to the next girl, a light brown haired girl with bright goldish eyes and a bored expression written all over her face. "Flame. You next." The Elder said. "Amber Cooney. Lavender Town Kanto. Mom and Dad died in a robbery but they caught the thief before he could harm me. He also killed my older sister." She said. It was best if she had a sad story to explain why she was so closed. The real reason was that she hated this. She didnt like the fact that for the rest of our lives she would have to fake her life. But mostly she was protective over the rest of her sisters and when they separate she won't be there to protect them anymore. She was oldest and felt she was responsible for the rest of us. The Elder nodded and Flame, now known as Amber, stepped beside Miko. The Elder nodded at the blonde girl with dark purplish eyes in an outfit that resembled a sailors uniform yet at the same time looked like a normal dress. The blonde girl stepped up with a huge grin on her face. "Aqua next." Aqua grinned a little bigger then said "Amy Mitsuka. Saffron City, Kanto. My mom and dad were just normal trainers. They're just at home, working. Mom is a Doctor, studying different herbal remedies. Dad just stays home. No siblings." Aqua, now Amy, never let anything get her down. She was always the happiest of the sisters and only thought of this situation as trying new things and having new opportunities. She was always the one to bring any of her siblings up and out of the dumps. She skipped over to Amber and Miko and waited beside them, tapping her foot on the floor in a happy tune. "Soul next." A girl with pure white hair that seemed to glow in the light and light hazel eyes in a black and white dress stepped forward, silently and said "Kira Whiting. Ecruteak City, Johto. Mom is ill in hospital now. Dad staying to look after her. An older sister helping look after mom." Soul didn't even wait until The Elder approved before she walked over the Miko, Amber and Amy, standing there and not saying a word. It didn't seem to matter as The Elder thought it was fine anyway. "Toxic next." A girl with pinkish purple hair in two ponytails and goldish hazel eyes stepped up and fingered a strand of her hair as she recited "Ariana Mayla. Cherrygrove City, Johto. Mom and Dad stay at home. Both are helping a professor there with his research. Never heard the professors name. No siblings." She said, quietly. Toxic had always been shy. And terrified that she might accidentally poison one of her sisters. The Elder had repeatedly told her that the Element's powers never work on other Elements and that she would have to concentrate on poisoning the food or drink, before her powers could really work. But paranoia had got to her. She repeatedly said "What if..." Toxic quickly stepped to the side and another girl stood in her place. This girl had dark brown hair, the colour of rich dirt and dark brown eyes, almost the same colour as her hair. "Pebble." Pebble nodded quickly and said "Michaela Roberts. Oreburgh City, Sinnoh. My mum and dad stay at home looking after my baby sister." The Elder nodded yet again and Pebble stepped to the side, now named Michaela. "Animal, come on! Hurry!" The girl with bright crimson hair and dull brown eyes snapped out of her daydream and quickly said "Serena Parkers. Hearthome City, Sinnoh. My mum died from illness. My dad stays at home. No siblings." She walked to the others and once she stopped moving, she instantly slipped into a daydream again. "Forest." A girl with black hair, hazel eyes and no shoes stepped forward and declared "Lily Maver. Petalburg City, Hoenn. My mum, dad and little sister live in an apartment there." The Elder nodded as Lily slipped to the side. "Good. Now Psy." But the blonde girl with deep purplish eyes had already stepped forward and now said "Mina Celtric. Lavaridge Town, Hoenn. Mum and Dad live there now, helping out a little with the Herb Shop." She then stepped to the side and called up "Storm!" Storm stepped forward and smiled, her blonde hair ruffled abit and her bright blue eyes glittered welcomingly. "Kiko Malina. Nimbasa City, Unova. Mum and Dad are helping run the rides there. Dad does Roller Coaster. Mum does Ferris wheel." She then smiled again and stepped the side. The last girl stepped up, her white hair reached the base of her spine and her purple eyes had kindness in them. "Last one, Blizzard. Then we receive and leave." The Elder informed them before Blizzard recited "Angelika Tanos. Icirrus City, Unova. My mom is training at the gym there. At the moment my dad is on a holiday in Sinnoh. Not sure what he is doing when he comes back since he said he would decide on his holiday." She smiled and joined her sisters. "Good job all of you! Now before you leave, you need your first pokemon. These are the legendaries you each bonded the closest with. In dire situations they will protect you at all costs. Now good luck! And remember! Don't trust anyone but each other!" The Elder rushed, quickly handing out different pokeballs to each of the girls. They peered inside to see which pokemon they got. They all seemed happy and thanked The Elder before walking out the door, then splitting into 5 groups. Once those groups got to their chosen regions, they would part and follow their own paths. About 3 years later is when the story, truly, begins.


	2. Chapter 1: Kanto

~{ Miko Banderest / Breeze }~

Miko sighed, looking at her Contest Ribbons. This years Grand Festival is coming soon, so all these contests are happening all over Kanto. As a Top Coordinator, she had been one of the judges for nearly all of them. Flight nuzzled her elbow and squawked "Star, Staraptor." Miko smiled and smoothed down a few feathers sticking up on her wing. "Next stop, Viridian City. Come on, Flight. Lets go." Miko said, climbing onto her back and being careful that she didn't hurt her. Flight squawked a last "Staraptor!" As she spread and stretched her wings, then she took off. The ribbons on Miko's dress streamed out behind her, as she hugged Flight's neck and sighed in content. A large wind blew from behind and Flight took the chance to glide for a moment, every now and again, flapping her strong black wings to keep them aloft. Miko's long blonde hair joined her ribbons and Miko unlocked her arms from Flight's neck and pulled out her flute, after making sure she had a firm footing. She put it to her mouth, and started playing a nice little piece. The notes echoed through the air and Flight swooped and flipped, in time to the tune. Miko smiled a little, but not enough to diminish the song. Flight slowed down as the tune ended and landed just outside the Pokemon Centre. Miko glanced around then checked a map near the Pokemon Centre door. According to the map, Miko needed to walk forward, take a second right then a third left and the Contest Hall should be dot in the middle of that street. (These direction are not true, neither are any other directions in this story. I'm just making it up on the spot) Miko followed the directions and paused. It should be about... Here. She turned to see a very large, grand building, with big letters over a doorway spelling out 'CONTEST HALL'. Miko smiled slightly and walked up to the doors. The doors swung open inwards as she approached and she stepped inside. A man in a butler suit instantly rushed up to her. "Hello! I am Sam. I am here to lead the judges to their stalls. Hurry, now! The contest is about to begin." He bowed as he introduced himself and Miko quickly curtsied back, before he rushed her through a door then a bright pink velvet curtain. Miko found herself in the Judges booth in the middle. A gold star was painted above the opening, and she sat in a red velvet-lined chair. The lights flashed and a man in a tuxedo walked on stage. Miko clapped with everyone and the man pulled out a microphone. "Welcome, everyone, to the Viridian City Contest! This is the last contest before the Grand Festival, so it is important to our contestants, to show their pokemon's true potential and try their best! For this contest, we have 3 judges! The 1st judge is Nurse Joy! The second judge is Jonathon! And the 3rd judge, and our special guest, the lovely Miko Banderest! The youngest Top Coordinator ever in Kanto! Now for today, we have 4 contestants! Contestant 1..." He announced all the contestants and introduced the Visual part of the Contest. The contestants moved back stage to dress-up their pokemon and Miko passed the time, chatting with other judges or fiddling with her hair. Finally the coordinators came out with their pokemon. Each pokemon was dressed in different accessories. One had Happiny hold a red umbrella, decorated in pink and orange fluff. Another had a Pikachu with sunnies and a cap. Miko quickly wrote down her ratings and they moved on to the next section of the Contest. This part of the contest had combination moves. Miko especially loved contestant 3's performance and put down high marks. Finally the last 2 coordinators battled, making contestant 2 the winner. They gave her a ribbon, and closed the contest. Miko walked out of the contest hall quickly and took to the skies on Flight. "The Grand Festival is in Saffron City. Lets go." Miko called to Flight and she veered to head in the direction of Saffron City. They were there in minutes and Miko booked into her hotel. She grabbed the tv remote, turned on the tv where the news was on, then walked into the kitchen getting out a pot and filling it with water. She was just putting it on the stove when a name on tv reached her ears and she half put down half dropped the pot onto the counter and sprinted into the kitchen. There on tv, was a news reported with someone next to her. Someone very familiar. "So now, we'll have an exclusive with the girl herself, Amber Cooney! The champion of Kanto!" Miko blinked. Her sister had been busy, like Miko herself. The camera shifted and showed someone standing next to the reporter, with a blank look on her face. Amber shifted a little, uncomfortably and faced the reporter. The reporter proceeded to ask Amber questions about her title and challengers, while Miko stood, captivated. I wonder what my other sisters are doing? Miko wondered then instantly stopped again. No, don't think like that! If my sisters and I meet again, we must pretend not to know each other. If we don't then it means the unthinkable has happened and that is something no one, but evil wishes. Miko forced herself to grab the remote again, switch off the tv and walk back to the kitchen area. That must never happen.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Amber Cooney / Flame }~

Amber shifted uncomfortably next to the reporter. The camera was trained on her, and she didn't like it. Not one bit. The reporter had moved to her background now and was making Amber nervous as she said one lie after another. There must be some people out there who know she's lying. Say they lived in her fake hometown, or knew that in Lavender Town, there had been no robbery or deaths. Beside her, her pokemon sat in a huddled group with each other, staring and switching their gazes between Amber and the reporter, and the camera. The reporter had wanted to see Amber's famous pokemon team who won all the battles, that earned her her title as champion. Well nearly all of her pokemon. Amber lied that these 5 pokemon, were the only ones in her party at the moment. There was actually one more pokemon, who she never used, not even in the battle against the former Kanto champion. Some boy named after a colour. Yellow? Red? Orange? Green? No, Green was the gym leader in Viridian City. Amber shook it off. She was on tv right now. She couldn't afford to drift off. After what seemed like years, the reporter finally closed the interview and they left. Amber sighed in relief as soon as they were gone and returned all her pokemon except for Blaze. Amber had accepted the chance to judge at the Grand Festival, as a special guest since they wanted to add a little twist to this years festival to make it memorable. Blaze neighed and Amber climbed onto her back. Flare flashed out of her pokeball and settled on Amber's shoulder. Amber smiled lightly and Blaze rushed off. All the buildings, people and pokemon flashed past in a blur of colours while Amber's browny ginger hair flew out behind her. Eventually the city was left behind and Amber was on the next route. They slowed to a trot and took a look around. Pokemon poked their heads out of tall grass and dashed back under cover when they saw her walking by. An Oddish, a gloom and 2 Vileplume rushed by, their little cheeks a tiny bit rosy from running so fast. They stopped by a short tree and jumped for a ripe, pink Pecha berry just out of their reach. Amber smiled and walked over. The little pokemon didn't notice her in their attempts to grab the bright, juicy fruit. Amber paused behind them to reach over their heads, pluck the berry gently from the branch and put it into their surprised outstretched hands. They stared at it in shock, until the little baby Oddish cried out, reaching for the treat. The Vileplume shared with Oddish and they all cried out in happiness. Amber noticed the Gloom hung back, looking at the berry in longing but not making any move towards it. Amber turned and plucked the last berry from the tree and handed it to him. He blinked and cried out "Gloom!" Before devouring half of the berry and giving the rest to the baby Oddish. They cried out to Amber, in what she guessed, was thanks then ran off, back into the grass. Amber walked back to Blaze and Flare who were feasting on their own buffet of berries. They must have found another bunch of berry trees, Amber thought before eating one herself. There were all sorts of berries there. Oran berries, Cheri berries, Chesto berries, Rawst berries, Aspear berries and way more. There were even Pecha berries! "Should've just lead them over here." Amber muttered. The succulent flavours of a Sitrus berry filled her mouth. "Flare! Flareon!" Flare cried in happiness and some wild pokemon poked their heads out of the grass, cautiously out of curiosity. They noticed the berry pile and didn't hesitate to rush over and start digging in. Amber laughed and let them eat. She beckoned to her pokemon and they left, leaving the berries to be eaten by the others. Suddenly she stopped and turned a little to the right. There a bus stop was there with one of those advertisement boards. On one side was a picture of Miko, one of Amber's sisters, the youngest. The picture was obviously taken during a contest. She was posing as blue sparkles and tiny white feathers floated down around her. Behind her, an Unfezant was posing in the air. It was an ad for the Grand Festival. On the other side of the board was a picture of another of Amber's sisters, Amy. She was in a close-up, posing with a Milotic on her right and a Vaporeon on her left. She had little bubbles floating around her, with Milotic shining a light through them. That was an ad as well, but not for the festival. Instead it was advertising a brand of Poffins. Amber smiled slightly then kept moving. She was glad that her sisters had achieved high goals but she couldn't see them again. Not now, not ever.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Amy Mitsumi / Aqua }~

Amy pranced along the sidewalk, her skirt wafting around her thighs, her hat bouncing the tiniest bit on her head. Vapour skipped along, happily beside her, taking in the sight. All over Saffron City, ribbons, streamers and decorations had been put in place for the Grand Festival. They're really going all out this year! Amy thought, gazing around in wonder. She would have let all her pokemon out, but they were all Water-types and couldn't walk on land too much. The only one who could was Ribbon but having the legendary pokemon, Suicune walking alongside her in the streets would attract too much attention. The Elder and her sisters had drilled that fact into her hard before they left on their own journeys. Ribbon never really left her pokeball much. Amy felt a little sad about it. She paused to look at a cloak in a shop, along the side of the path. A girl, probably about 17, a year older than Amy, was standing behind a counter, smiling at everyone who came in. Unfortunately there wasn't many people to smile at. Amy took pity then sent Vapour to the other side of the street, near a poffin stand, to stare at the freshly cooked poffins. Vapour nodded, already knowing what the plan was and scampered over to the stand while Amy pretended to look at all the decorations. Once Vapour had been hanging around the stand for about a minute Amy turned, pretended to look for him then yelled out,across the clearing, "Vapour! Come over here! I wanna check out this shop! It looks good!" Just as planned everyone in the clearing turned to see who the loud person was. Vapour trotted past them smugly, as they realised his trainer was the famous Amy Mitsuka. The Top Coordinator and the girl on the front of every magazine. Well, the good ones anyway. Vapour leapt into Amy's arms and they wandered into the store. The girl looked stunned at having a very famous girl, looking around in her little quaint shop. A murmuring broke out among the crowd getting louder and louder. "3... 2..." Amy started counting down, Vapour's head nodding slightly on each number, as she pretended to inspect a red and pink scarf. "1... Crowd." She finished. Suddenly a giant crowd was in the store looking at the great merchandise. The 17 year old realised what Amy had done and snapped out of her trance. A little girl, who looked to be about 5 or 6, wandered out of the back room, probably wondering what the sound was, and her eyes widened at the sight of all the people. She wandered over to the shopkeeper and tugged on her dress, right at the hem. The girl quickly excused herself from the current customer and bent down beside the little girl. The customer started to look annoyed while the little girl didn't want to leave her big sister. Amy quickly stepped between the girl and the counter and served the customer. The customer quickly asked for her autograph and once she had it, she left. Amy served about 4 more customers before the little girl finally returned to the back room and the shopkeeper went back to the counter. "Thank you." She said, giving a customer his change. Amy shrugged. "No problem!" Amy replied happily. She held out a black belt with tiny silver studs finished with a silver buckle and a miniature red tie. "I'd like these please! And keep the change!" She said, holding out 20 poke-dollars. The girl smiled, scanned the items and gave them back in a bag but frowned when she received the money. "Uh... These items together only cost 13 poke-dollars. There's 20 here?" Amy nodded. "I said keep the change didnt I?" And with that, she pranced out of the store and back down the street, Vapour padding after her, with a content look on its face. She walked into the hotel and was about to book in her room when the tv in the lobby caught her eye. Amber Cooney, the Kanto champion was being interviewed. In other words, Amy's own sister. "Interesting. This says she's in Saffron City, for the Grand Festival. Well, ditto!" She said, under her breath. She walked to the counter, told them her name and room booked. The man pushed a book, with loads of names and stamps and dates in it and points to an empty row. "Sign your name here." He said. She smiled, and signed her name with a flourish. Just before he took the book away, Amy noticed a name and room number that caught her eye. He wrote down the date and stamped a space next to Amy's signature. Too late to leave now. Get too suspicious. Amy thought. Oh well! They'll just have to deal with it. She said goodbye to the man and skipped up to stairs. The elevator was currently out of service. She skipped all the way to her room on the eighth floor, room 8H. Amy smiled. 2 doors down from her beloved sister, Miko Banderest. The famous Top Coordinator, just like her. They weren't supposed to meet yet, they just happened to pick the same hotel and end up in the same city as each other. Now for most normal people, this would be just a coincidence. But the sisters weren't normal, not one bit. No,

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes, but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?


	3. Chapter 2: Johto

~{ Kira Whiting / Soul }~

Kira stared out the window, as people whispered behind her. Some guy had already challenged her on this bus, but after one look at the Quilava beside him, she had instantly declined. The Quilava had looked awful, all battered and bruised. Instead of an "I accept your challenge!" like the other Gym Leaders, she had said "Do you know what a pokemon centre is?" He had looked so confused. "Huh?" She motioned to his Quilava. "That Quilava is obviously loyal and faithful to you, so your bond is fine I guess, but it looks awful. When was the last time you healed it? Or fed it? Or even let it rest?" He had stared at her blankly. "Treat your loyal pokemon better then come back. Then, and only then, I might consider battling you." He had looked furious at that point and slammed down into his seat, like a child throwing a tantrum. At the next stop, he had shot her a last dirty look, then stormed off the bus. Finally the bus stopped at Violet City and Kira grabbed her black bag. She lifted the strap to rest on her left shoulder, while the bag itself rested on her right hip. She walked to the front, thanked the driver quietly, and stepped off the bus, trying to ignore the loud roar of the engine as the bus started up and rushed past her. She quickly found out where she was and walked off to find her gym. In her bag, she held a pokedex, she had just received from the professor in New Bark Town. He said that Kira was the best judge of character and that she should give it to any trainer she thought fit to hold it. He was right, naturally, as Kira was absolutely the best judge of anyone. She could point out who was born where, whether they were living healthy, their emotions and if they're making a decision, she could tell what they were going to decide. All just by seeing the subtle movements in their posture, facial expressions and little details here and there. Plus, nearly every trainer in the region came to visit her gym and train themselves. Only about 13 out of 80 trainers had defeated her this year. All the others she had either defeated or turned away. She unlocked the door of the gym, only to be tackled by 3 blurs A.K.A. Her pokemon. Shine and Dusk burst out off their pokeballs and greeted the other pokemon enthusiastically. Drift, though, wouldn't let go off Kira's leg and Bander and Dusk were having a hell of a time trying to pry him off. Meanwhile the girl pokemon of the group, Shine and Missy, stood a little way away, chuckling at their efforts. Kira laughed and took out a poffin. After waving it around a little to get Drift's attention, she threw it about a metre away and Drift instantly let go of her leg to retrieve it, only to be accidentally dragged down by Bander and Dusk, who were still trying to get him to let go. The 3 toppled into a pile on the floor and Kira laughed more. If there was anything she had learned about Drift, it was that he loved food. Especially poffins. Drift dragged himself out of the bottom of the pile and raced to the poffin, gobbling it down in seconds. Kira turned, locked the door and walked to the back where the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom was located. There was also an outside field for training. "Who wants lunch?" She called over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen. Drift cried out "Drif! Drifblim!" And raced after her. She had just finished eating when the phone rang, on the other side of the room. She sighed, placed her bowl on the kitchen counter and picked it up. "Hello?" She said. "Hey! Kira right?" Kira patted Bander, as he came and sat beside her. "Yeah? Who is this?" Kira asked. "Oh! It's Whitney! Gym Leader of Goldenrod City! Hi!" She replied. "Hi. So why are you calling?" Kira said. "Oh, Me and Morty are holding an emergency meeting in Goldenrod City. We need all the Johto Gym Leaders to come here straightaway." She said, suddenly serious. Kira frowned. "What's wrong?" She said into the phone, pulling up a wooden chair from nearby and taking a seat. "Oh, we think a group is threatening us. They are taking people's pokemon, and saying they need to 'liberate' pokemon. They obviously lost their sanity a long time ago." She said. "It's impossible to lose something you never had in the first place." Kira replied and Whitney giggled. "Yeah! Anyway, just come over as soon as possible. I beat down one of their grunts last week, and he let something slip. Something about the Marble Pieces. Then Skyla called, saying the same thing. That they had something to do with the Marble Pieces." Kira stiffened. "Morty says he knows what they are, but he wants to wait until all the leaders get here before he tells us. So hurry please!" Kira swallowed and said "ok." Before hanging up quickly. It had finally happened. Someone had risen, someone who wanted their powers, to cross to the other world. The world stronger than the Distortion world. The world that could destroy this one without effort. Kira instantly packed, closed the gym and headed to Goldenrod City.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Ariana Mayla / Toxic }~

Ariana cradled the baby Poochyena in her arms. She whispered reassuringly before handing him back to his trainer. "There we go. All healthy now. No fever for him." A little 5 year old girl jumped with excitement and took him into her own tiny hands. The Poochyena yipped in happiness as she hugged him. "Thank you miss!" The little girl cried before rushing off to her parents waiting nearby. Ariana smiled, and turned to walk back into her house. Skunk and Fang greeted her as she walked back through the door and she walked into the living room. This wasn't her actual house. Someone called... Gold? Was it? Anyway, he wanted Ariana to look after a pokemon egg he had recently found on Route 36. Ariana pulled out the egg from her purple bag, which, at the moment, rested on her right hip. It had 3 pockets, two small ones on the front and a large main one. All of them were zipped and occupied. One of the smaller pockets was filled to the brim with potions and antidotes and paralyse heals and all those sort of items. The other smaller pocket was filled full with different sorts of berries. And the big pocket was saved for the egg and pokeballs and a little space for anything else that might come unexpectedly. The egg wobbled slightly, then fell still. Ariana sat on the couch, the egg resting in her lap, and closed her eyes for a moment. She was about to fall asleep, when the phone rang, jolting her aside awake again. She set the egg back on the couch, gently and picked up the phone, pressing the 'answer' button. "H-hello?" She said nervously. "Hello? Is this Ariana? Ariana Mayla?" Ariana nodded then mentally slapped herself. She was on the phone, he couldn't see her. "Y-yes. Wh-who is i-is it?" She replied. "Um... Well, I'm a Proffessor and I have an egg here, that I'd like you to hatch for me. I looked around for breeders and everyone told me you were the best around so..." His voice trailed off. Ariana grinned and said "I-I would b-be h-happy to h-hatch the e-egg for you!" Ariana smiled at her happy pokemon as they cheered. "Great! I can pay you 15000 poke-dollars." Ariana's jaw dropped. 15000 poke-dollars! "R-Really?!" She exclaimed into the phone. "Yeah. Meet me in the pokemon centre of Goldenrod City and I'll hand over the egg there." Ariana had to restrain herself from fangirl screaming into the phone. "Ok!" She replied loudly. "Ok, let's say in about 3 days? Ok, see you then!" He said happily, then he hung up. Ariana leapt around in happiness with her pokemon for the next 15 minutes, non-stop, crying out in happiness, then she realised what he had said and froze. "Wait. He said 3 days, didnt he. Ok, we have to move now!" Ariana sent her pokemon to get various things she would need for the trip and they were ready in about half an hour. "Ok! Lets go guys!" Ariana called over her shoulder, already halfway to the door. She hesitated then quickly ran to the coffee table to grab Arc's pokeball. She peered through the pokeball and stared at Arc inside. Arc stared right back. He wasn't taken out very often, since Ariana treated a lot of children's pokemon too and they like to look around in her bag and pokeballs to see what type of pokemon she had. The first time it happened, that little boy almost ended up letting out Arc in public. Luckily, just before he did, Ariana had turned around to grab her bag and the many berries inside it, and stopped him. Ariana hesitated before placing him inside her bag with Mucky, Solo, Bell and Fang, leaving Skunk out to walk with her and keep her company. Then she walked out the door, heeding for Goldenrod city, where her only other sister in Johto, happened to just arrive.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?


	4. Chapter 3: Sinnoh

~{ Michaela Roberts / Pebble }~

Michaela jumped up in surprise as Glide flew up to her in a hurry and shouted "Gli, Gliscor!" She looked up at him and said "Ok. Coming." She didnt really understand him. But she knew enough to know what he had said. Another trainer wanted to challenge her. She smiled and ran after Glide as he swooped back through the door and down the hall, towards the field. Just as she reached the door, she spun around and returned the rest of her pokemon into their pokeballs and ran down the hall. She ran about 5 metres then took a left, through a door. She then took her place on the short pedestal and waited. Her gym floor was mainly sand and a bunch of walls rose up from the ground, randomly scattered everywhere. Beside those walls were plenty of holes. To reach the gym leader, A.K.A Michaela, the trainer had to navigate their way through the maze, using the tunnels to pass under walls. This trainer made his way towards Michaela slowly and steadily and finally stood before Michaela. She smiled and motioned to the machine next to her. "I do not fight pokemon who have been weakened. That's not a fair fight in my opinion." She said simply. He smiled gratefully and placed his pokeballs in the machine. They glowed 2 or 3 times and he took them back. She then took him through a door, behind her to the left a little. Through that door was a large room, occupied completely with a large battlefield. We took our places, either side of the field and the referee stepped up. "This will be a 3 on 3 battle. Whoever knocks out all of their opponents pokemon wins! Only the challenger may make substitutions! Begin!" He shouted and the trainer threw his first pokeball out. "Gooooo, Raticate!" He shouted and a healthy looking Raticate appeared on the field. Michaela thought for a moment then sent out Glide. "Gliscor!" He called out as he ascended into the air. "Gliscor, X-Scissor!" She shouted. His Raticate countered with Hyper Fang then repeated only this time as attacking. Glide dodged and used Fire Fang from behind. Raticate fell but got back up and used Quick Attack. Glide dodged and used Bite full on, putting a lot of power behind it and earning a K.O for Raticate. He returned Raticate and sent out a Growlithe. Glide used X-Scissor and Growlithe swiftly dodged. Growlithe used Flamethrower but Glide dodged and used X-Scissor again. Growlithe slammed against the ground but got back up, only to get hit repeatedly with Quick Attack. Every time Growlithe struggled up, Glide had turned already, using his speed from Quick Attack. Growlithe got hit about 16 times before Glide got tired and slowed a little, giving Growlithe a gap just big enough to use a full powered Flamethrower, followed by Flame wheel. Glide had a K.O. And Michaela returned him, sending out Chow. Growlithe used Tackle and Chow dodged before using Dragon Claw. Growlithe fell back then tried to use Flamethrower. Chow dodged most of it but got caught on his shoulder. He jumped back and launched a strong Draco Meteor. Growlithe did its best to dodge but got hit hard and fainted. The trainer's last pokemon was a Wartortle. Wartortle used a classic Water Gun first and Chow dodged easily before using another strong Draco Meteor. Wartortle dodged barely and instantly attacked with Bubblebeam. Chow got hit and fell back quite a bit, until he lay right in front of Michaela. He then struggled up and used Earthquake. Wartortle couldn't find a way to dodge and got a direct hit. Right after Earthquake, Chow dived underground with Dig and crashed into Wartortle, only for Wartortle to twist and used a powerful Water Gun up close. Chow fainted and Michaela returned him. She smiled and sent out her second best pokemon. Fly appeared on the field and stared at Wartortle. Wartortle used Water Gun and Fly dodged easily. Wartortle used Bubblebeam and Fly dodged easily. Wartortle used Aqua Jet and, yet again, Fly dodged easily. Fly dodged another Aqua Jet then hit Wartortle with Dragon Rush. Wartortle winced in pain and struggled back up, before getting hit with a full-powered Dragon Rush and fainting. "And the winner is the Gym Leader of Canalave City, Michaela!" The referee called. Michaela smiled and stretched out her hand to the trainer. He smiled back and shook it. "Great battle, kid. You knocked most of my pokemon. And held out that long against my best. You got further than most trainers that come to this gym." She complimented. He grinned. "Really?" She nodded back. "Thanks Miss! I'll train even harder to get that badge! Seeya!" He yelled and ran out the gym. Michaela smiled again and walked back to her living room. She had just settled onto her couch when the phone rang from beside her. She sighed and picked it up. "Hello? Gym Leader Michaela here. Who is this?" She said into the phone. "Hello? Michaela? This is Gym Leader Gardenia." Michaela leaned back into her couch. "Hey, Gardenia! How's it going?" She replied happily. "Not so good. I need you to come to Eterna City straight away. I want to hold an emergency meeting right away. It starts when all of the gym leaders, elite four and the champion get here." Michaela frowned and leaned forward in her couch, resting her elbows on her knees. "Why? What's wrong? Is it so bad that you have to bring in the elite four as well as the champion?" A breath was heard on the other side of the line. "Some group is in all the regions, plotting something. I've been in contact Skyla from the Unvoa region, as you know and apparently she trying to contact the other regions straight away. This group is called Team... Lightning? No! Team Plasma! That's it! Anyway, Plasma has tried twice to get a hold on Unova and now it seems that they are plotting to take all 5 regions. I'll give everyone more details once you all get here. Also Skyla has followed their plotting to a good clue. If you have anything on the tale of the Marble Pieces please bring it with you." Michaela froze, her voice stuck in her throat. "Hello? Michaela? Are you still there?" Michaela cleared her throat and, with much pained effort, croaked out "Yeah, I'll be there as soon as possible." Gardenia tried to ask what was wrong but was cut off as Michaela slammed the phone down, ending the call. She sat there for ages, trying to process this astonishing fact in her head. It took a while, but she finally cleared her head and looked around. Maybe she could just not go? No, everyone there would worry, might even come looking for me, in case I'm in trouble. Sounds like everyone's on the edge of their seats because of this Team Plasma. And if they come to her gym then find she was ok the entire time, how would she explain not going? Michaela quickly shook all the thoughts from her head before she went into a state of shock. It might give her an excuse to skip the meeting... No! Michaela shook that thought from her head too before she decided to dwell on it. "I'll just go, say I know of this tale since a passing trainer told me but I never caught his name. I'll just say I know nothing more!" She declared out loud without realising. Taking another look around, she saw that her pokemon had gathered around and were now trying to comfort her. Chow had even brought an apple from the kitchen and was offering it to her. She chuckled and kindly refused. "I'm fine guys. Really." She said, patting Glide's head. They all hesitated then divided to believe her. Michaela felt someone nudge her from behind and turned to see Fly and Gastro handing her a packed suitcase for the trip to Eterna City. She giggled and took it. "Well, she did say 'come straight away'." She was halfway out the door, five pokemon in their pokeballs in her bag, Glide swooping around her, when she froze mid-step. She had just realised. The Elite Four will be there. My sister is in the Elite Four. We're going to meet again.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Serena Parkers / Animal }~

Serena stared up through the leaves of the oak tree looming over her. She drifted off, looking at the sun rays which speckled the ground with golden shapes. "Serena." A voice sounded beside her but she didnt seem to hear it, being so lost in her day dream. "Serena." The voice said a little louder but it didnt work as she continued to gaze upwards. "Serena!" The voice called and finally Serena jolted out of her daze and scrambled up to her feet. "Oh, sorry Flint! You know how I can when I daze in my spot." At the moment, Flint and Serena of the Elite Four were standing outside of the Pokemon League. Serena looked at the four people standing behind him, waiting for her. "Um, how long was I out?" Flint glanced at her. "About 10 minutes. If you don't count the 10 before that." Serena smiled and bowed apologetically before rushing up and saying "Sorry!" Seven times to the others. Aaron forgave her instantly and Cynthia soon followed. Lucian held up for 8 minutes before cracking. It was just so darn hard to be angry at her when she was standing right there giving you the lillipup eyes. She just looked so innocent, you found yourself forgetting why you were angry in the first place. Flint walked up from behind Serena and snorted. "You guys are so soft." Serena turned to Flint and the eyes came back. Flint flinched and gave in after 6. Aaron looked at him and Flint shrugged and looked away. "No one can deny those eyes. It's practically impossible!" He huffed. Serena giggled and ruffled his hair, which would have seemed funny to any passerby since she was like 3 inches shorter than him. She giggled and they all continued on. "So what's the facts about this... Team Plasma?" Serena said, tilting her head. Flint shrugged. "Skyla was the one who knew the most. I mean, Team Plasma has only ever attacked Unova. She mentioned something about a marble?" Serena hesitated then decided that it mustn't be. Lucian instantly corrected him. "It not a marble. It's this famous tale. Everyone believes it's real but personally I think it's an old hags tale. One for kids going to bed. It's called, I believe, The Marble Pieces. Not a marble at all." Flint shrugged and grinned. Aaron paused and looked around. "Hey! Where'd Serena go?" They all looked back to see a frozen Serena in mid-step, her eyes wide in horror. "Ahh, guys? I think Serena knows something about The Marble Pieces." Aaron put in, while they walked back to Serena. At the mention of the tale, Serena flinched but at least that got her awake again. "S-sorry! Uhh, day dreaming. Lets continue, and you can tell me more about this... Plot of theirs." She smiled sheepishly but it didnt work. "So, Serena's hiding something from us? Wonder what?" Flint said. Serena avoided his eye contact. "I don't know what you're talking about. Lets hurry before we become late." She said, moving off the topic. Cynthia looked at the others. "Leave her alone guys. She'll tell us when she's ready. No need to rush her." Serena smiled gratefully at Cynthia declared they should get a move on. She maintained her cool on the outside but on the inside, her thoughts were rushing around so fast, it was almost painful. What if this Team Plasma actually succeed? Then what? I will be used for evil! That's the last thing I want. The last thing we want actually. Serena paused for a millisecond as she recalled her sisters. She could remember each of them as clearly as she could remember the few minutes that had passed just before. She was jolted out of her day dream again as Flint shook her shoulder. She sighed. "How long?" Flint turned to face the bus stop beside them. "Only 3 minutes this time." He replied, putting emphasis on the last two words. Serena couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry." He shrugged. "Meh, the bus will be here in about 10. Day dream as much as you like til then." She grinned and sat on the concrete. He stared down at her. "You do realise there is a seat right next to you?" He said, gesturing to the seat of the bus stop. Serena shrugged. "Meh! I like it down here." He grinned and shook his head, as though thinking 'What are we gonna do with you, Serena?' Serena looked up at the sky. What were they gonna do with her? They'd find out sooner or later, about what she was. What were they gonna do? How would they react? Would they accept her as she was? Or would they reject her? Throw her out on the streets maybe? Serena drifted off, thinking about possible scenarios that might occur when they did find out. The 10 minutes passed quickly and the bus pulled up beside them. They climbed a board and took their seats. Cynthia sat next to Lucian and together they talked. Aaron and Flint humoured each other across the aisle and behind them, Serena dreamed about what would have happened if she was a normal girl, with a normal starter pokemon which wasn't a greatly respected legendary pokemon who could grant wishes. Of course she had never used a wish. Maybe she could wish for Team Plasma to disappear. No, it would be awful. Practically murder to make them all just disappear. Bringing them to justice and murder are two very different things. Despite Cynthia's magnificent historical hometown, Lucian's unlimited knowledge, Aaron's kindness and Fint's swagger, Serena was really the wisest and most courageous one out of all of them. Maybe she herself didn't know it, but the others sure did. Though they were wrong about her species, they were spot on with her spirit. Serena was shaken out of her day dream again by Flint when they were about to arrive, and had to concentrate on not dazing off before they arrived. Of course this led to her dazing off about concentrating on not to daze off. Flint was quite irritated but the Lillipup eyes came back to haunt him and he forgave again. Serena shook off her uncertain and doubtful thoughts and bounced along the sidewalk and through the doors. They were nearly the last, due to the dawdling but they had made it. Apparently they just had to wait for the last person. The gym leader of Canalave city. No sooner than they had explained who they were waiting for, did that same person walk in. "Ahh! Michaela!you're finally here! Now we can start. Oh, I don't believe you and Serena have met. Serena this is Michaela Roberts, the Gym Leader of Canalave City. Michaela, this is Serena, part of the Elite Four." Cynthia introduced her over Serena's shoulder as Serena was standing with her back to the door. Michaela Roberts... I believe that name is quite familiar. Perhaps she once challenged me? Serena wondered. She spun around to greet the newcomer but froze in shock. "P-Pebble!"

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?


	5. Chapter 4: Hoenn

~{ Lily Maver / Forest }~

Lily swung her legs back and forth, back and forth, back and forth over the gutters of her gym in . Leaf sat beside her, basking in the strong sunlight. Lily closed her eyes in content but was disturbed as Rose rushed out and shouted out "Roserade!" Lily smiled and climbed down the pipe of the gutters, landing safely beside Rose. Leaf felt her presence leave and got up slowly. Leaf yawned and stretched before leaping down beside the two. Rose dragged Lily inside and Leaf had barely enough time to leap onto Lily's shoulder and hold on tight as they were rushed through the gym. Lily's gym was literally like a tropical jungle. There were banana trees here and there with a bunch of Pecha trees, Oran trees, Chesto trees and Rawst trees as well. There was lastly a mango grove in the top left corner of the gym but that was for Lily's own snacks. Rose dragged her through, nearly running into a tree or bush about 3 times before finally pulling her into the kitchen out back. Tropical, Ivy, Blossom and Flora were all standing beside the oven. On the stove above the oven were a bunch of berries from the gym, chopped in quarters and skewered on skewers. They were laid out on a large green leaf that Tropical obviously provided. Lily giggled and placed them into the oven on the top shelf then switched the oven on. Her pokemon stared on, waiting for their toasted snack to be ready. Lily giggled again the phone, about a pace away rang, startling all of them. Lily laughed and picked up the phone. "Um, hello? Lily here!" She said not the speaker. "Hey Lily! This is Liza. Gym Leader of Mossdeep city with my brother Tate. Listen I'm holding a meeting for gym leaders, the elite four and the champion. Skyla just contacted me and this new team, Team Plasma is threatening the 5 regions. They're after the Marble Pieces." Lily stiffened, the happy look drained from her face. That was Liza alright. Quick and straight to the point. "This concerns you as well so, we've decided that we'll hold it Petalburg city, at Norman's gym. Just come as soon as possible, I still need to find a way to get in touch with the Kanto champion. Apparently Skyla is having trouble reaching Kanto at all. See you soon." Liza hung up with no time to waste and Lily stood there in shock. Behind her the oven dinged to signal the berries were done and the pokemon cheered but Lily was so numb she could barely hear them. Leaf was the first to notice and leapt onto her shoulder, licking her cheek. Lily came back. At the touch and shook her head to clear her thoughts a little. Leaf jumped up to avoid her black hair whipping her and accidentally landed on some. Lily yelped as Leaf landed and Leaf jumped off to land on the counter. Lily chuckled and said "Sorry. Well, I better get going. But first we can have a little snack on those berries." Lily suggested, reached her hand in the oven to pull out the skewers. They were nicely cooked with a slight brown crisp a top each piece. Lily tried a Rawst piece and grinned to signal they were good. Before she could blink, the pokemon were diving head first into them. Luckily they had made a lot or they all would have been gone in that first few seconds. Lily laughed and joined them. The meal was so big that it lasted half an hour but about halfway through Leaf wandered off. Lily decided she must be tired and draped Leaf in a light blanket that dragged about an inch on the wooden floor then on the dirt of the gym. It was about the size of a dishrag but since Leaf was quite small, it fit her perfectly as a blanket. Leaf yawned and blinked in surprise at the felt that had suddenly appeared on her shoulders. She paused for a moment then smiled at Lily with grateful eyes. Lily smiled back and Leaf walked into the gym jungle. Lily walked back to the feast and 10 or 15 minutes later the meal was finished and Lily was stuffed. She played around a little with her pokemon until Flora realised something and jumped up to the counter. Lily paused and looked at her, confused about she was doing. She walked to the phone and nudged it. It took Lily a minute or two to realise what she meant. She was asking about the meeting. Lily hesitated. "Um, maybe we can go on a quick jungle hike first?" She suggested, shoving the topic aside. Flora frowned but the rest of her pokemon cheered. Lily grinned and they walked into the main body of the gym. Behind them, Flora rolled her eyes and got Rose to keep an eye on her, as Flora wasn't allowed to leave the back room until after hours since she was a legendary pokemon and who knows how trainers will react to her being there. Lily walked through the gym in glee. She often enjoyed taking walks through the gym, being among all the plants and all. They walked for a while until Rose stopped in front of Lily and looked at her. Lily looked back, confused. Rose sighed and drew a phone on the ground. "Oh. That." Lily said. "Uh, let's just check the mango groves first." She said, starting to skip towards her right. Tropical blocked her and pointed in the opposite direction. "Right. Mangoes are this way." She said sheepishly while her pokemon stared at her. Lily had never forgotten where each plant was. Never. She grinned and skipped in the correct direction of the mangoes, making it there in no time. Her pokemon ran after her and found her checking the mangoes. "These few are very ripe but those over there are still a little green. They probably need about a week further to grow. Perhaps an extra few days to make sure they're ripe." Lily observed ducking down to eye level with the mangoes. Rose rolled her eyes and nudged Lily again before drawing a second phone on the ground. Lily hesitated and started towards the door. "Maybe I should get the groceries first. I think we're low on-" she was cut off as Rose grabbed her and dragged her back, using Vine Whip. "But, we only have a quarter of a loaf of bread!" She protested. Rose just shook her head and walked to the back room, with Lily in tow. Lily sighed and stopped arguing. It was a one-sided conversation anyway. Ross set her down on a small wooden chair in the kitchen and Flora nudged her hand. Behind Flora, a suitcase had been packed with her clothes and anything else she might need. Next to the suitcase, Blossom was struggling to fit a pair of shaggy camouflage pants into it. Lily giggled and led her hands away from the suitcase and pulled out nearly all of the clothes. Only leaving a very pretty dress that she hoped to show off. Lily closed it and turned to her pokemon. "Now who wants to come shopping with me?" Rose fell in disbelief and Flora scowled. At that moment, Leaf walked back into the room, her face a picture of content and satisfaction. Ivy and Blossom quickly explained to her what was happening while Flora and Rose tried to persuade Lily, with Tropical helping but to no avail. Lily always changed the topic or just wouldn't reply. Leaf nodded and padded up to Lily. Lily, being busy with Rose, Flora and Tropical, didn't notice her until she pawed at her leg and started to beg. Lily sighed and said "I can't. I can't face it. I'm not ready." Her pokemon stopped arguing and stared at her. Leaf purred and rubbed against her leg, obviously meaning that she was definitely ready. Lily hesitated then sighed in defeat. "Fine. But you're all gonna help me with this one right?" She questioned. Her pokemon nodded rapidly and Lily announced her defeat, with Flora placing the suitcase in her hand. Lily grinned and hugged Flora. "You are, out of anyone, coming. Don't you dare deny it!" She cried out. Flora chuckled and nodded. All of them but Leaf went back into their pokeballs and Lily skipped out the door, almost childlike. But what can you expect from the second youngest. At Lily's heels Leaf trotted along with a happy look plastered on her adorable little face.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Mina Celtric / Psy }~

Mina looked at the entrance gate behind her, then turned back to Petalburg city. She reached out and felt others thoughts. She could instantly tell the woman to her right was deciding on what to have for dinner, the man beside her was thinking of the chances of having a holiday next month. A teenage girl to her left was thinking about how dreamy her boyfriend was and Mina instantly shut her out. She reached a reasonably good hotel and was about to head through the door when she suddenly stopped. A little voice inside of her directed her away. 'Not that one. Not that one.' She didn't hesitate to follow the voice as it led her down the street and around the corner. This voice had been with her, her entire life. It told her where to go, where to be, when to get there. Often it led to good things. Once or twice it had led to bad things. But those bad things always turned to good in time. She realised where it was taking her and made right to take a shortcut through a short alley but swerved back seconds later as the voice warned her away from there. 'Not there! not there! Danger! Danger!' As she swerved away, she made out a small shadow behind a dumpster. One that she wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the voice. She smiled at him and he stared back in astonishment that she could see him so clearly. She felt his head go blank and hurried on before he got any ideas. A right, a right, a left then another right and the voice finally told her to stop. She looked around. A sushi shop was on one side of the street and she considered buying some when the voice rushed her on. 'No time! No time! Hurry in!' Mina looked around to see where the voice meant. 'Right! Right! Turn! Turn!' It rushed and she noticed a hotel to her right. The building seemed normal but it just stood out in Mina's vision for no particular. She smiled as the voice urged her to go. 'Thats the one. That's the one. Safe there. Safe there.' Mina nodded slightly and walked through the door. It was quite a nice hotel. Comfy seats were dotted all over the lobby. He voice told her to hurry and she did. She walked straight to the desk just as someone walked in. She signed in and the man smiled kindly. "Quite lucky Miss Celtric. That was our last available room. It is an honour to have a famous Top Coordinator staying within our fine hotel. Your room is 3F." She took the keys he held out, smiled and said thank you. Mina instantly understood why the voice had rushed her as the moment she stepped aside with a smile on her face, a young girl walked up to the front desk and tried to book a room. Mina fiddled with the keys in her hand and walked to her room, her luggage in hand. She unlocked her room, put the luggage on her bed and was about to unpack when e voice came back. This voice can be so annoying sometimes. She thought. 'Go back out. Go back out. Turn right. Turn right.' Mina sighed and walked outside, taking a right. 'Left. Left. Gym. Gym.' She took a left and located the Petalburg Gym. She was about to walk in, but hesitated. On the door hung a laminated sign which clearly said 'GYM CLOSED FOR DAY. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB.' In capitals and everything. 'Go on. Go on.' Mina rolled her eyes and tried the door. Either they thought people would obey the sign, or forgot to lock the door because it was unlocked and she walked right in. A bunch of people were chatting inside and instantly turned to look at her as the light filed through the door. "Didnt you read the sign?! Gym's closed for the day!" A man said. Mina glanced at him and identified him as the Gym Leader Norman of Petalburg city. In fact she identified them all as Gym Leaders. Flannery walked up and said "Oh, you're Mina right? Mina Celtric? The famous Top Coordinator! I'm a great fan of yours. Flannery of Lavaridge Town. Nice to meet you." Mina grinned and shook her outstretched hand. "Thanks a bunch! I'm glad you liked my shows." Flannery smiled back, even bigger. "I sure did! Especially the one with your Espeon and Bronzong! That was amazing." Mina returned to a smile. "You mean Gem and Bronze! Yeah that one was a personal favourite of mine as well. Though it took ages to perfect that move." She commented, thinking back. Flannery nodded. "It did seem advanced, but totally worth it right?" Mina was about to reply when Norman cut in. "Yay she's famous. But this is a closed meeting." Flannery nodded. "I guess. But maybe we can ask her if she knows anything about the Marble Pieces? We're pretty limited on info." She suggested. Mina stiffened up and frowned. Luckily the voice kept her calm and urged her to say "I've heard of it before. A long time ago though." Flannery shrugged. "It's better than nothing. Hey I should totally introduce you to the gym leader of Sootopolis city. She's a great friend of mine. At the moment she's in the back getting a drink but she'll nape back any minute now. Then you can tell us what you know!" Flannery said. Mina looked around and said "sure thing! Can't wait to meet her." At that moment the door in the top right corner of the room creaked open and a very familiar face stepped into the room, licking her lips. "Hey, Lily! Come over here! I wanna introduce you to someone." Lily shrugged and skipped over. She froze about 2 metres away when she realised who the visitor was. "Mina, this is Lily Maver, Gym Leader of Sootopolis city. Lily, this is Mina Celtric, a famous Top Coordinator. She might be able to help us with that tale." Flannery introduced and explained. Lily stared at Mina, and in return Mina stared at Lily. Lily stiffly took 3 steps to cover the distance between them and held out a shaky hand. "Hi... Mina. Nice to m-meet you." Her voice wavered and Mina took her hand and shook it slowly. "Right back gotcha." She said. Lily's mind was racing with thoughts. How is she here? Why is she here? Is Fate playing a trick on us? Was it a coincidence? No, coincidences don't happen to girls like us. Especially at this time when someone has put the tale in action. Should I tell her? Maybe she already knows? No she probably doesn't. I should break it to her slowly. Wait, that won't make a difference. Mina never makes a difference whether I tell her slowly or not. Wait a minute. She can read thoughts. You sneaky thing. Mina giggled. Lily was the same as always. Keeps forgetting about Mina's powers. Next thing she knew, Lily had grabbed her wrist and was dragging her into the back room. "I just need to have a quick talk with Mina!"

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?


	6. Chapter 5: Unova

~{ Kiki Malina / Storm }~

Kiki smiled and picked the small daisy. It had a nice fragrance and she put it back down before long. She pushed back some of her long blonde hair and continued along the path. She kept pausing in the sunlight to keep some of the warmth before going on through the shade of the trees along each side of the walkway. Beside her Electro and Charge bounced along in a game of tag, running round and round Kiki's feet. She laughed and quickly stepped out of their way. Even so, Charge tried to dodge Electro's outstretched paw and stumbled onto Kiki's toe. Luckily Minun don't weigh a lot so Kiki just giggled and picked them both up. Around them, people were pointing Kiki out. Of course Kiki was used to it, being the most famous Top Coordinator in Unova. At the moment she was exploring Route 20. Last time she was here, it had been last Autumn and all the leaves were a bunch of fiery yellows, reds and oranges. Now it was Summer and all the leaves were a fresh lively green. She was on her way to Virbank City and was there in no time. Throughout all these 3 years, she had never been able to visit the Pokestar Studios. She walked past a trainer who challenged her to a battle but she kindly refused. "I'm sorry but I'm in a rush to see the new shoot that's starts in 10 minutes in the Pokestar Studio so I must hurry. I don't even battle. Sorry!" She explained. The trainer looked disappointed but shrugged it off. "Next time for sure ill battle you! You're the top coordinator! Everyone knows you have mad battling skills! I don't know why you don't ever use them." He said. Kiki smiled. "It's a bit complicated. I really must go. Goodbye!" She called the second half over her shoulder as she hurried away. Kiki rushed through the city gate and took a right, just past the pokemon centre. She made just as they started and gave them her name. They immediately let her in. Being famous definitely has its perks, especially in Pokestar Studios. They're always looking for ways to get you in a film, Kiki found out. She got snacks, bottles of water and mints served to her during the shoot. She just smiled and refused them all. When the shoot ended it was nearly nightfall. Kiki wandered outside and tried to find a hotel to stay in. She instantly was lost and ended up outside of the gym. When she looked at it, she thought of the little boy's comment before. "... Everyone knows you have mad battling skills! I don't know why you don't ever use them." She hesitated then walked through the door. One little gym battle won't hurt. I haven't battled in so long. I could just sharpen up a little then move on to the next town. She thought as she descended some stairs. She heard some chattering up ahead and sped up. She turned the corner slowly and peeked at the group who was talking. She quickly realised they were Gym Leaders and that this was a closed meeting and tried to run before they saw her but it was too late. "Excuse me. What is your name?" A man with black hair and glasses addressed her. Kik gulped and came around the corner completely. The chattering stopped and everyone looked at her. The man who had spoken was the gym leader of Aspertia city but Kiki couldn't quite remember his name. In fact she was so scared they were gonna get her in trouble that she couldn't remember any of their names. "I-I'm Kiki Malina. I'm so sorry for intruding on your meeting but I was just looking for a gym battle. I'm really sorry! I'll straight away!" She said, bowing in apology and slowly backing away to the door. "We can't let her go. What if she's a spy for Team Plasma? We can't be sure of anything at the moment." Roxie said, glaring at Kiki. Kiki frowned back. "I am not a spy! I just wanted a battle with you but now I'm not so sure! I don't want to battle a bully." Kiki retorted. Roxie narrowed her eyes and Kiki glared right back at her. "Woah, ladies. Calm down a little. Kiki, it was rude to walk in uninvited and unannounced but Roxie, that doesn't give you the authority to start accusing her of spying and betrayal of her region." Marlon reasoned. Both girls humphed and turned their backs on each other. Kiki rolled her eyes and turned back. "Kiki Malina, I'm afraid we have to be cautious. Team Plasma has been threatening every region and are quite bold with it as well. We just make sure you aren't actually spying." Drayden said. "Dont be too hard on her." Skyla put in. Kiki stared at him and said "You aren't gonna start questioning me right? I've heard that's quite scary. Though I've never experienced it before." She said getting a little of topic. Iris bounced up and said "Dont worry! We just need to make sure we can trust you." She said smiling. Kiki smiled back uncertainly and waited for someone to do something. "I know! Why don't we let the champion decide?" Roxie said smirking. Kiki shrugged and said "I don't really care anymore. I'm innocent and didn't hear anything anyway. Lets just get this over with." She replied. Then Kiki remembered who the champion was and froze. "Hey Angel! Get in here! We have a visitor!"

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?

~{ Angelika Tanos / Blizzard }~

Angel sighed, swinging her feet over the ledge of her pedestal. She had a suitcase clutched in one hand and Glacier slept on top of the other. Marshal walked out with a backpack. "Sorry Angel, for making you wait. Everyone is just helping Iris with her suitcase." Angel rolled her eyes. "Well they need to tell Iris we're moving for three nights to a city not for a year in a different region." The waiting had put her in a bad mood. She hated waiting. Marshal chuckled. "That's really the case isn't it." Angel frowned. "Why don't you just get one of your pokemon to help. Ya know. Your strong muscly fighting pokemon?" She pointed out. He frowned. "I... Didn't think of that. Be right back." He said then walked back in the building. Angel rolled her eyes. A few moments every walked out with Marshal's Throh carrying a bright pink suitcase. Iris was grinning and Angel rolled her eyes again before stating down the road. They had a private jet waiting for them around the corner, courtesy if Skyla. She really wanted everyone to be at that meeting. Angel neared the corner and slipped on her earphones. She started her playlist and blocked out the noises of the loud conversations behind her. They reached the jet and a woman led them inside. She said something but Angel was still listening to her music so she didn't hear a word. She walked in and took a seat in a couch next to a window. Stretching she laid back and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, Iris was shaking her awake and they were there. Angel yawned, rubbed her eyes and smiled. The nap had cleared her grumpiness and she felt refreshed. They walked into Virbank city and entered the gym straight away. "Gosh, it's been ages since I was last here! Wonder how Roxie's doing? In fact I wonder how all of them are doing. How is Marlon? Or Cheren? Or Elesa? Or Skyla? Are they all good?" She rambled a little. They entered the gym, went down the stairs and around the corner. Roxie met them halfway, her electric guitar in her hand. "Hey! Angel! Nice ta see ya again! Been a month now I think!" Angel shrugged. "Who counting?" Roxie grinned. "You got that right. So you here for the meeting Skyla arranged? She's been here for the past hour and you guys are the first to arrive. Actually I think I hear Elesa's limo." She said, looking upwards. She was right as Elesa made her way down the stairs seconds later. "Hey! Angel! Long time, no see!" She cried out, hugging Angel. Angel hugged back lightly and pulled back. "Elesa! How is your modelling business?" She smiled. "Great. We recently took on a new model. Quite the looker she is, even without make-up." Angel grinned. "That's awesome! Is that... An airplane? But Skyla's already here?" Skyla rushed up smiling. "That must be Drayden and Marlon. They're the only other ones I leant a plane to." Angel turned to face her. "Skyla! How ya doing? Looks like your cargo planes are good." Skyla frowned. "Not really. One of our planes crashed due to faulty engines. Luckily no deaths since it only crashed 27 feet but engines are busted. I don't have enough money to fix it so I'm one plane down." Angel frowned. "That's horrible! How much do you need to fix it?" She cried. Skyla did a small count on her fingers then replied "1050 poke-dollars. Originally 3000 but I earned a lot from the trainers at the gym." Angel started rummaging in her bag instantly. "Um, let's see. I think I have that right... Here!" She smiled and held out enough money. Skyla denied straight away. "No! I can't take that! That's too much! You've done too much for me already!" But despite her protests, Angel forced the ones into her hands with a smile. "Trust me! I already get enough money from the trainers who challenge me every other day. And I don't really spend any of it. I have twice that amount just in my wallet alone." She argued. Skyla slowly stopped protesting then reluctantly put the money in her pocket. "You're too kind. I really need to find a way to repay you one of these days." She said, a smile persisting on her face. Angel shrugged. "Hey! Sorry we took so long getting out of the plane! This guy just wouldn't wake up!" Clay called as he started down the stairs. Marlon shrugged. "I sleep when I sleep. I can't help it if I don't wake up." Angel giggled and silenced their argument. "Come on. Lets go inside and the others can come in when they get here. Roxie, we got some catching up to do." Roxie grinned and strummed a strong note on her guitar. They walked in and a few minutes later Cheren and Shauntal walked in, already having a conversation. After a few hellos, a few hugs and welcomes from Angel and some discussion between Cheren and Angel, Cheren and Shauntal returned to that conversation. Skyla, Clay and Marlon had a nice chat, with Clay and Marlong getting into a small argument here and there with Skyla always calming them down in the end and Elesa and Drayden had a conversation too. Just like she said, Angel and Roxie caught up, each doing a recount of what had happened in the last month. Eventually Skyla was able to gather them in a group. "Ok, so it's probably time me and Drayden tell you why you're all here. Well it's because-" Angel cut her of. "Wait, let me get a drink first. I don't want the story in half-half. Be right back." She walked into the back room and got a soda out of Roxie's mini fridge. As long as she didnt touch her lemonade she could have whatever she wanted. She had just opened it when Roxie's voice echoed out. "Hey, Angel! Get in here! We have a visitor!" Angel took a sip of soda then walked to the door. Wonder who it is? She thought.

That was the way Fate had decided it. Fate can be cruel sometimes but it is Fate nonetheless. Who are we to question it?


	7. Chapter 6: Kanto

~{ Miko Banderest / Breeze }~

Miko fingered a lock of hair while she sat on the side of her bed, her legs swinging. Right now she was in her hotel room and had absolutely nothing to do. She sighed and got up to walk to the door. The Grand Festival was 2 days away now and most of Miko's friends were getting ready for it. Her other friends weren't even in the city. Nothing to do. So bored. Nothing to do. So bored. Nothing to do. So bored. The two short sentences ran through her head over and over, again and again until she couldn't take it anymore. "That's it! I'm going out! Guys do you wanna come with me, or stay and play here?" She asked, letting out her pokemon at the same time. Except for Tornado of course. Robin, Dawn and Swoop wanted to stay but Cloud and Flight volunteered to come along. Miko smiled and said over her shoulder as she walked out the door "Could you try to entertain Tornado without letting him out of his pokeball. Thanks!" She could hear her pokemon's happy cries as she shut the door. Cloud and Flight were in their pokeballs at the moment. Just until they got outside. She walked out and Cloud came out by herself, crying out in joy, and loving the sunlight. Miko laughed and let out Flight too. "Don't go too far!" She called and Cloud flew upwards. Flight, however stayed with Miko, hovering about 5 feet above her head. She smiled and walked along the sidewalk. She found an ice cream cart just around the corner and bought a single scoop waffle cone of Choc Mint. She held it in her right hand and kept walking. She walked around randomly until it got a little late and the sun started slowly setting. Miko didn't realise until it got quite dark. She had long finished her ice cream and turned in the direction of the hotel. She was almost there when, out of no where a large hand came over her shoulder and covered her mouth. Miko tried to scream but the hand muffled any noise she tried to make. She scratched and clawed at the hand, trying to make it let her go but all it did was drag her into a dark alley. She struggled and the man holding her said "shh! Ariados! String shot." Miko was let go, only to be instantly tied up and gagged by a lot of string. Above her Flight realised she was in trouble and dived at the man but the Ariados shot a large web at it and Flight plummeted to the ground, her wings restricted from keeping her in the air. The man chuckled and said "This was almost too easy. Especially for a Marble Piece." Miko hissed at him through the string and struggled more. "No use little girl. Ariados makes some strong string." Another figure entered the alley and a female voice said "Stop messing around goofball. We need to get her to the HQ straight away. No distractions." The girl walked over and grabbed Miko's bindings, and motioned to Miko's feet. The man rolled his eyes and picked up her ankles, lifting her body clean off the ground. She hissed at them again and twisted in way that forced the girl to let her go. Miko winced as she hit the pavement and glared at the girl. She glared right back and turned to the man, though before she could anything, yet another girl entered the alley. "Kidnapping is a serious crime ya know. That's why I can't allow you to kidnap that little girl." The man and woman spun to face the newcomer. Obviously they weren't counting on anyone interfering. "Ariados, string shot!" The man yelled. "Inferno, Flamethrower." She said, letting out an Infernape. The Flamethrower burnt straight through the string shot and hit Ariados. K.O. The woman rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "I'll handle this then. Go Granbull, Houndoom." The two pokemon flashed out of their pokeballs and snarled at Inferno. Inferno snarled right back and Miko shifted so that she could see the last person's face. She almost died of shock right there and then. It was Amber, her sister. Her eyes widened and she looked around for something to free herself so she could help. The broken remains of a beer bottle caught her eye and she struggled over there, fingering the sharpest piece and started to saw through the string. Amber narrowed her eyes, not yet realising that it was her sister who lay tied up, and said "Two on one? When did that become fair? Go Flame!" An Arcanine flashed out and snarled at the Houndoom and Granbull, along with Inferno. "Flame, use Flame Charge. Inferno, use Flame Wheel, powered up with Mach Punch." Flame charged forward, encased in fire and smashed into Granbull before it could even move. Granbull was pushed back and slammed into the wall behind it. Inferno used Flame Wheel and sped towards Houndoom. At the last minute he powered up a Mach Punch and hit Houndoom with a Mach Punch surrounded in flames. Houndoom howled and fell beside Granbull. "Granbull, Take Down. Houndoom, Crunch!" Amber yelled "Flame, Fire Fang! Inferno, Flare Blitz!" The pokemon carried out their attacks just as Miko cut through the last of the string and ripped of the string around her mouth. Granbull was overpowered and fainted but Houndoom was able to dodge and carry out its attack. All but Granbull were still up. Miko jumped up and Amber finally realised who she was. At this moment while Amber was frozen in shock, the woman took the chance to knock out Amber's pokemon with Houndoom's Faint Attack repeatedly. Amber returned her pokemon but Miko stopped her from letting out another 2. "Cloud, Tail Wind! Flight, Brave Bird!" Out of the sky, Cloud circled then used Tail Wind. Flight, who Miko had already freed, took advantage of the Tail Wind and used it to power up its Brave Bird, earning a K.O. For Houndoom. The woman returned her pokemon and scowled. "We'll retreat for now but we'll back." Her and the man fled, leaving Amber and Miko alone in the alley.

~{ Amber Cooney / Flame }~

Amber stared at Miko in shock, and in return Miko stared back. Eventually Flight broke the silence by nudging Miko while checking her for injuries. "I'm fine Flight! Don't need to worry. They only tied me up, nothing else." Flight looked at her doubtfully then decided to believe her. Amber blinked then smiled. "You're ok now, right Br-, Miko?" Amber said, remembering at the last minute that her sisters name was now Miko Banderest. Miko nodded slowly. Amber made to walk away when Miko grabbed her wrist. "Um, Amber. Maybe we should stay together." She mumbled. Amber's widened and she whipped around to stare at Miko once more. "W-we can't! If we come together... We aren't supposed to come together! Remember what the Elder said. If we come together, terrible things might happen." Amber explained. Miko rolled her eyes. "You don't change do you. Another thing she said was 'Fate will guide our path.' If you want to play the 'she said' game. If Fate really guided our paths then why are you here with me? If Fate didnt want us meet again then why was it you who saved me? Fate does guide our paths and for some reason, Fate has guided our paths here. Both of our paths." Amber opened her mouth to suggest a coincidence but Miko, knowing her sister too well, interrupted. "And don't you dare say coincidence. You know those type of things don't happen. Not to us." Amber tried to protest but Miko had gotten her. Amber frowned. "This isn't right." Miko frowned. "What's not right?" Amber smiled. "I'm the oldest sister. Shouldn't I be the one to give the youngest advice not the other way around." Miko put on a relieved expression and said "Well, our worlds just upside down like that." She giggled and led her in the direction of the hotel. "Um, I'm guessing we're staying at my room?" Amber said once they reached the hotel. Miko glanced at her. "What gives you that impression? We're staying in my hotel room." Amber glanced at her too. "Um... Then why are we at the hotel I'm staying in." Miko looked at Amber startled then sighed. "Fate really wants us close to each other huh? I'm staying at this hotel too." Miko bit her lip. "If Fate wants us together so much, I'm guessing we'll end up running into... Amy too." Amber nodded slowly, taking it in. "Yeah, that makes sense. She might even be staying in this hotel as well." She suggested. "Most likely. Do you still have Magma?" Miko agreed and asked. Amber nodded. "Yeah. He's in here." She replied, patting her bag. Miko smiled. "Tornado is my hotel room. I didn't plan on being out long. Look how that turned out. My other pokemon must be worried sick. Robin always did worry too much. She's probably worrying right now. I bet they all are. Robin, Tornado, Dawn and even Swoop." Amber looked at Miko confused. "Robin is my Swellow, Dawn is my Noctowl, Swoop is my Fearow and you already met Tornado, Cloud and Flight." She said, motioning to her bag. Amber nodded. "So... Shall we go up? Which room are you in?" Miko checked a small key. "Room 6H. How about you?" Amber stared at her. "7H." Miko blinked in surprise. "Fate REALLY wants us close together huh?" Amber shrugged. "It's not so bad. We haven't seen each other in years. I've been missing my sisters." Miko smiled gently and replied "You're not the only one." They smiled at each other and walked through the door. Apparently the elevator wasn't working so they took the stairs. All the way to the 8th floor, they were pretty puffed at the top. They walked down the hall and took a left. Since their rooms were right next to each other, Amber excused herself to grab some pj's and walked into her room. Miko waited outside patiently. Amber hurried around, trying to locate her pj top. She soon found it and rushed back outside. Miko walked to her door and reached into her pocket, only to pull out an empty hand. She fumbled around in her bag, but again her hand came out empty. "My key is gone. I must have dropped it. Probably on one of those hundreds of steps." Amber frowned. "It'll take us ages to search the entire staircase. This is the 8th floor." Miko shook her head. "We can't search anyway. The hotel has a strict policy against people wandering around after 10:45. Cause we have a high chance of disturbing the other guests. It's already 10:41 so we'll just have to get my pokemon from the inside to open the door. I would stay in your room but I can't just leave my pokemon in there. Robin! Dawn! Swoop! I'm back!" She called through the door. There was a lot of noise from the other side of the door and the door swung outwards, almost hitting Miko as she jumped back to avoid it just in time. "Woah! I guess I don't need to do anything else." She laughed as 3 flying pokemon rammed into her, tackling her to the ground in a big relieved hug. "Sorry guys. Got a little caught up but I'm here now. I told you to not worry didn't I?" Amber giggled and helped her up. "Your pokemon really like you. It's pretty obvious." Miko grinned while Robin nuzzled her arm. "We're a part of the family, my pokemon included." Amber smiled and walked in. The room looked the exact same as Amber's inch to inch. "It's already late. I might go to sleep now. Sleep whenever you want, there's two beds in here." Amber smiled and nodded as Miko climbed onto her bed. She was going pretty well considering she was almost kidnapped. Guess she was trained for it like the rest of us. Amber recalled what the Elder said. 'Fate will always fight for the right side. Why do you think the wrong side hasn't achieved anything yet. As long as you girls fight on the right side, Fate will fight with you.' Guess she was right. Fate led me to Miko just in time before she was taken. Amber thought. Wonder what other things Fate will do for us?

~{ Amy Mitsuka / Aqua }~

Amy yawned and stretched. Sunlight filtered through the windows and curtains right onto her face. She stretched a few more seconds then slipped out of bed and got changed. As she ran her brush through her blonde hair she pondered on what to do next. Well Grand Festival is tomorrow. But I'm a judge so I can't enter. And because I'm a judge, I can't go around and see my friends shows. She thought. Oh, I need to go shopping. I have to buy some more Spicy poffins for my pokemon and Sweet poffins for Coral and Vapour. I get a discount on that brand I helped advertise. The 'Poffins for a Princess' motto is weird but they make good poffins. And i might grab a packet of chips for me. And some cake mix since I offered to bring a cake to the Grand Festival. Darn, why did I accept that. I can't cook for my life. Maybe I can ask Miko... No, she might be mad at me coming up to her. Oh well. I'll have to pay the instructions real attention and detail. Amy slipped on her socks and shoes and grabbed her bag. She gently woke up Vapour who was sleeping at the end of her bed and told him the plan. He nodded and stretched before padding happily at her heels out of the door. She closed the door, locked it and slipped the key into her bag before proceeding down the stairs. The elevator was having technical difficulties so she had to walk down all 8 levels of stairs. She sighed and started walking. It was around the 3 floor that she realised Vapour wasn't behind her anymore. She frowned and turned back. Vapour met her on the 5th floor holding a small key. Amy frowned and checked the room on it. 8H. Wait. That's my sister's hotel room. I'll just have to live with her wrath since this hotel doesn't have a lost and found. They should really fix that. Amy sighed and walked back up the stairs. Luckily she was fit and wasn't even puffed out. She walked down the hall, took a left and stopped outside Miko's door. She reached out with her hand, hesitated then forced her hand to knock on the door. When Amber opened the door all groggy and yawning, Amy blinked in surprise. "Uh, Amber? Nice to see ya big sis." She said. Miko appeared right behind Amber all dressed and wide awake. "Ahh! Amy! I was wondering when you would show up." Amy grinned and waved. "Hi hi! Amber, dear. You look so tired! Did you only just wake up?" Amber glared. "Amy dear. You haven't changed a bit." Amber rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and walked back into the room. Miko grinned and dragged Amy inside. "So why did you come here?" She asked Amy, sitting her and Amber opposite to Miko. "Um, I found your key and wanted to return it. Here." Miko smiled and took the key from her outstretched hand. "So how did you know I was staying here?" Amy smiled. "I saw your name when I signed in. At that point I couldn't just leave the hotel since it would be horribly impolite and suspicious." She replied directing the second half at Amber. Amber glared at then shrugged as though to say "Just forget about it." Amy realised something and said "Miko, how did you know, I knew you stayed in here?" Miko smiled. "When you opened the door, I judged how surprised you were and you weren't a lot. I thought that was probably because you didn't expect Amber to open the door. But not because you didn't expect your sister to open the door. That kind of reaction would be a bit less... planned." Amy laughed. "I'm impressed. If this tale didn't exist then you definitely would have been a detective." Miko shrugged, grinning. "Probably. If only." Amy shrugged and said "Hey! You guys haven't met my pokemon haven't you? Except for Ribbon of course." Miko smiled. "I get the feeling I'm about to." Amy grinned and nodded rapidly. "Come on out guys! I want you to meet someone!" She tossed up her pokeballs and five of her pokemon flashed out. "Corsola! Cor, Corsola!" Coral came up to Miko with bright eyes. "Aww, she's adorable!" Miko grinned and started to pat her. Coral smiled in happiness. Amy giggled. "Yeah, Coral loves pats. Anyway so she's Coral, that's Vapour." Amy pointed to Vapour and he jumped up and called, "Vaporeon!" Amy pointed to her Jellicent then Milotic then Clamperl. "And that's Floss, Milo and Pearl." Miko grinned and greeted all of them and Amber joined in. Amy glanced at both of them. "Can I please, please, please see your pokemon?!" She begged. Miko shrugged and called out her pokemon. A Noctowl, Fearow, Staraptor, Unfezant and Swellow then pointed to them in that same order. "Their names are Dawn, Swoop, Flight, Cloud and Robin. Guys, say hello!" They all obeyed and Flight walked / waddled over to Miko. "Star?" She squawked, tilting her head. Miko shrugged. "I'm not sure what we're doing next. How about you guys?" Amy was about to answer when Flight interrupted. "Star! Staraptor, Staraptor!" Miko frowned and Flight pointed a wing at Amy and Amber. "Oh! You were asking who they were. Well then, these are my sisters. The ones I told you about. This is Amy and this is Amber." Amy smiled and waved along with Amber, who had been pretty quiet. All of Miko's pokemon grew quiet and stared at the two girls. Miko giggled and Amber glanced at her. "You told your pokemon about the legend?" Miko smiled. "Of course. They had a right to know what might happen if they came with me. I never battled and caught any of them. I befriended them and they chose to come with me. Robin had lost her egg and I helped locate the trainer who had picked it up, thinking it was abandoned. Both Dawn and Swoop were close friends and Dawn got caught in a Pokemon Poacher trap so Swoop came to find help and found me. Cloud was injured too but I found her by accident on my way to Pallet Town. Flight was abandoned by her old trainer and didnt know how to fend for herself. I found her in a forest, half-starved." Amy grinned. "No wonder they love you so much!" Miko grinned back and shrugged. "They're my absolute best friends." She declared, her pokemon crowding around her. "Of course they are! And Amber, can I meet your pokemon?" Amber shrugged. "Sure thing. Come on out guys." An Infernape, Arcanine, Ninetales, Rapidash and Flareon appeared beside her. "Inferno, Flame, Ember, Blaze and Flare. Guys these are my sisters." Inferno puffed out his chest in pride, Flare cried out in welcome, Blaze and Flame stared at Miko, Amy and their pokemon and Ember kept quiet. Miko waved and glanced at Blaze and Flame. "I guess I'm not the only one who told my pokemon. And I also guess you didn't just tell those two, knowing you of course." Amber shrugged. "When I look back on it now, it seemed pretty silly but I guess I don't really need to be embarrassed, given the circumstances." Miko grinned. "Guess not. So what have you guys been doing for the past three years?" Amy cut Amber off before she could answer. "Wait. Before we share, can I quickly run down to the shop? I need to get some groceries." Miko nodded. "Sure. We'll wait here, obviously." Miko turned and waked through a door to Amy's right. "Be right back!" She called from the room in there. Amy nodded quickly to Amber before skipping out the door. "Ditto! Won't take long anyway! Come along Vapour!" The rest of Amy's pokemon had started to play with Miko's and Amber's. Amber shrugged and amused herself by watching the pokemon play. Miko came out about 5 minutes later and half an hour later Amy joined them too. "Finally! Gosh, I just couldn't find the ham! Turned out they put in the frozen section instead of the meat. How wierd is that?! Anyway I'm ready to chat!" Amy said, plopping down on the chair. Miko grinned at her. "Yay! Now, the one thing I need to know. What have you guys been doing for the past three years?" Amy went first, recounting all three years she spent away from her sisters. Then Amber did the same, then lastly Miko. It took them nearly all day to get through all three stories but they finished around 4:30 in the afternoon, having paused before Miko's story to have some lunch. Amy especially wanted to meet this girl, Blue, who Amber had met when she had finally become Champion. Apparently Blue was a personal friend of the previous Champion, Red. Though it seemed that Yellow was more of Red's best friend than Blue. Miko seemed interested in meeting Yellow and Amber wanted to meet Sapphire who Amy had met, when Sapph had accompanied a guy called Ruby to a contest. Of course Amy had been judging and it was her points that had put Ruby in first place so she had gone to congratulate him afterwards. Sapph was totally into battling and was convinced contests were pointless. Amy wasn't very fond of her but still found it interesting that she believes contests are useless yet she obviously wholeheartedly supported Ruby. Amy thought Amber found this interesting too. Amy glanced out the window and Amber frowned at the darkening sky. "Um... I need to go back to my room. I left valuables in there. See ya guys tomorrow!" Amy said over her shoulder as she made for the door. Miko nodded. "Amber you better go back to your room as well before the hotel tells you off for hiring a room." Amber hesitated. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Even if I am the youngest." Miko reassured her and Amy nodded briefly, pulling Amber out of the door before she over-thought it. "Come on! Miko's old enough to look after herself! She's been doing it for the last 3 years, for crying out loud!" Amy cried out as she dragged Amber out. Amber sighed and nodded before walking into her room. Amy chuckled. Amber had always been over-protective, and she hadn't changed a bit. She was still chuckling as she walked into her room and pulled out her pj's. After she had gotten changed and brushed her teeth she sat down to think a little. Lets recount, she thought. So Miko and Amber are both staying at the same hotel as me, right next to me. And they weren't angry at all at me showing up. They are both here for the Grand Festival like me. They both ran not each other by coincidence like I did. Is this the Fate the Elder was telling us about. Wow, it does a great job.


	8. Chapter 7: Johto

~{ Kira Whiting / Soul }~

Kira sighed as Clair and Whitney once again got into a fight about who was was stronger. "No! Me and my Miltank would beat you for sure!" Clair rolled her eyes as the other Gym Leaders who had arrived tried to calm them down."Oh please! May I remind you again who is in the Elite Four here and who isn't even the final Gym Leader. Not only that, but the third. You're not even in the top half!" Whitney scowled. The other Gym Leaders were failing miserably. "I chose this position! At least I'm not a self-centred dragon witch!"

"What did you call me?!"

"I think you heard me!"

"Oh that is it! I'll knock those cheap little boots right off your feet!"

"You wanna try! Huh, you wanna go right now!"

"Hell yeah!"

Finally Kira had, had enough and slammed her hand down on the table making a loud bang which silenced everyone in the room. "Shut it! I'm about to have a headache with this pointless racket!" Whitney yelped out a small "Sorry!" And hurried over to a cushioned seat. Clair swallowed and tried to look as cool as possible while retreating to the opposite side of the room. Bugsy and Jasmine sighed in relief while Falkner shot a grateful look at Kira and sat next to Whitney. Kira sighed and sat back down, picking up her book again and returning to her reading. If course right at that moment Chuck decided to burst into the room and yell "I'm here!" With Will and Karen trailing behind him. Kira winced at the noise and gave up trying to read in peace. She placed in a bookmark and closed the book, placing it back in her bag. "Hi Chuck." She said, her elbow leaning on the table and her head resting on her palm. Chuck grinned and replied "Hey Kira! How ya doing?" Kira managed a small smile and answered "Great. Just great. Now I can rely on you to keep these two from chopping each other's head of." Kira motioned to Whitney and Clair ignoring each other on the opposite sides of the room and sighed once more. Those two had never gotten along and Kira didn't expect them to be friends but, Arceus, they could at least not bother anyone else with it. Chuck chuckled and sat opposite her. Bugsy and Jasmine stayed with Whitney, Will and Karen resided with Clair and Falkner joined Kira and Chuck. Not ten minutes later had all of the others arrived. By then the three groups had shifted into one in the middle of the room and started discussing the tale while Kira stayed in awkward silence in the corner, denying that she knew anything about the so called Marble Pieces. Kira noticed that Morty had been keeping an eye on her throughout the meeting. Wonder why, Kira thought, peeking at him through the corner of her eye. He seemed... Observant. Like he was observing her for signs of something. But what? That was the question that plagued Kira's mind for most of the meeting. That was until Morty stood up and said "I would like to visit the Pokemon Centre and switch one of my pokemon. Could someone accompany me?" Kira glanced at him just as his gaze swept around the group and rested on her. "Ah, Kira. You don't seem to be too involved in the discussion. Do you mind?" Kira realised what he was doing and shrugged. "I don't see why you can't go alone." She mumbled and Chuck grinned. "I think it would be fine. Plus Kira, you've been sitting there gloomy throughout the entire meeting, you might as well go for a small walk." Kira stared at him. Traitor. Kira gave up, knowing this would just end like this, one way or another and walked out with Morty. Once they were around the corner she glanced at him. "So what did you want to talk about." Morty shrugged and played innocent. "What do you mean? I wanted to swap a pokemon." Kira shook her head briefly and faced him without stopping. "Don't give me that. It's clearly obvious you wanted to talk to me alone, even if the others didn't notice it. Well, the others aren't here. We're alone. So why don't you tell me why." Morty smiled. "Look who's impatient today."

"I'm patient when need be. That doesn't seem to be the situation here."

"Good point. So why didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you're a Marble Piece." At that Kira swerved sharply and pulled him to the side of the street. "Talk. Now." Morty glanced at her. "I know you're a Marble Piece. I can tell from your spirit." Kira stared sharply at him. "Who have you told?" Morty smiled. "No one. It's not my place to. But I think you should tell the others." Kira raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? And why would I do that?"

"The more we know, the more we can help." Kira considered this. "That sounds promising but no thanks. I can't drag anyone into this. It would be as bad as signing your death warrants. I couldn't live with that you see." Morty shrugged. "We know the consequences-"

"-and you wouldn't be able to wriggle out of it if I told you. And the others. They don't really know the consequences. Not the real ones. If I told them, there would be no way out." Morty frowned. "True but they wouldn't be happy stand by while you fight this by yourself."

"So you suggest I involve innocent people who don't have any experience! Arceus, it's bad enough that you're involved!" Morty frowned further and nodded. "Then what will you do?" Kira paused. What would she do? "I guess I'll fight." Morty stared at her. "Will you stop that! It's creeping me out!" She snapped. He blinked and nodded. "I still think you should tell the others but its your decision. You're right when you say I have no experience with this. Just keep it in mind ok?" Kira sighed and smiled slightly. "Sure. We are still friends, are we not?" Morty nodded and started walking to the Pokemon Centre. Kira followed, and they continued in awkward silence. Kira walked through the doors and looked around while Morty went to the PC. Suddenly, light purple hair moved in the corner of her vision and she hurried over to Morty. "Did you know?" Morty looked at her, confused. "About what?" Kira relaxed a bit when he said that, knowing that he truly didnt plan this. Sticking to the shadows and out of 'her' sight, Kira pointed at her sister, who seemed to be waiting for something on a seat on the opposite side of the room.

~{ Ariana Mayla / Toxic }~

Ariana wriggled her stiff fingers as she waited for the Prof. to arrive. "Ah! You must be Ariana, right?" She glanced up to see a man holding out a hand, waiting for her to shake it. She smiled slightly and shook it. "Y-Yes. I'm A-Ariana Mayla. N-Nice to m-meet you." She said quietly avoiding eye contact. He grinned and nodded. "Brilliant! My name is Prof. Oak. I have a laboratory here in Johto and have recently found an egg, as you know. Ah, it's in here somewhere." Ariana smiled and waited patiently while Prof. Oak dug around in his bag for the egg. "Here it is!" He pulled out a light green egg with a tad of darker green along the bottom. "Here. Now take very good care of it. We haven't yet classified which pokemon it will hatch into so it's very important that you take good care of it. Sometime within the next two weeks we will send someone to help you. His name is Gold and he has a talent for breeding." Ariana smiled. "I believe I've already met him. I'm currently looking after one of his eggs." Prof. Oak looked at her in surprise. "Really? Well, that's great!" Ariana smiled and cradled the egg against her chest, rocking it like a baby. Prof. Oak thanked her about twenty more times before he finally left but Ariana barely took notice as she was too busy admiring the gorgeous egg. She took a seat again when something moved in the shadows. Ariana looked up sharply and caught a lock of white hair as it disappeared into the shadows. She looked harder and made out the faint outline of two people, talking in the shadows out of people's sight. She narrowed her eyes and silently slipped over there. The outlines didn't seem to notice until she was up close. "W-who are you?" She asked. One outline jumped in surprise as the other instantly shifted so that Ariana could not see her face. Only her white strands of hair blocking her view. "Um, I'm Morty, Gym Leader of Ecruteak City." The boy who had jumped introduced himself. "And who's your companion?" Ariana gestured to the girl. "Um..." He didn't end up answering until he sighed and told his friend "You might as well show your face now. She's obviously not gonna leave." The girl chuckled and shrugged. "I guess you're right. This is pointless." The girl spun around and Ariana gasped in shock. "S-Soul!" Soul hushed her and said hurriedly "My name is Kira now. I'm the Gym Leader of Blackthorn City." Ariana gaped at her sister and couldn't seem to say a word. Kira chuckled again. "Gosh, Ariana. You haven't changed at all. Though you've gotten better with that 'New people' stutter." Ariana finally found her voice and replied "Um, Kira. What are you doing here?" Kira glanced at her. "I'm in town for an emergency Gym Leader meeting. The tales started." Ariana's voice went once again and her jaw dropped. She tried to take it all in but it felt like a heart attack to try. Kira sighed and nodded. "Take your time, take it in. I'm sorry if this is a little rushed but we've been gone long enough. The other Gym Leaders will start to worry soon. Right Morty?" Ariana took deep breaths to calm down then realised something. "Y-You mentioned the tale in front of him! H-he k-knows?!" Kira hushed Ariana once more and nodded slowly. Ariana began to hyperventilate. "Holy Arceus! How is this happening?" Kira turned to Morty. "And this is my long-lost sister, Ariana. As you can see, she's very... I don't even know a word for it." Morty chuckled and said hello to Ariana. Ariana was able to squeeze out a hello in return as she took nice long deep breaths. In, out, in, out, in, out... Ok. Ariana put on a small smile and faced her sister. "I would like to accompany you to the meeting." Kira looked a tad surprised at this request. "Um, how would I explain this to the other Gym Leaders?" She replied with another question. Ariana thought for a moment. "Uh, why don't you just tell them... I'm an old friend?" Kira shook her head. "They'll still ask why I brought you to a closed meeting." Ariana frowned and racked her brain for another solution. "How about I tell them the real tale. They'll want to keep me there after that." Kira glanced at Ariana and smiled faintly. "I see you've gotten more bold as well. I guess I could manage with that. But try not to give anything away and say you had heard the tale from an Elder in... Lets go with, in New Bark Town. Ok?" Ariana nodded firmly and grinned. "I missed you so much!" She said before throwing her arms around Kira. Kira stiffened immediately and it took 7 minutes for her to relax in Ariana's grip. "Ok, you've been hugging me for 10 minutes straight, you can let go now." Ariana let go and took a step back. "Let's go then!" She happily chirped. Kira sighed and straightened up before walking out of the Pokemon Centre with Ariana and Morty on her heels. "This has proven to be such a stressful day for me." Ariana heard her mutter and sped up to walk next to Kira. "Well at least we got to see each other again. That's the reason I'm coming to this meeting. I haven't seen you in 3 years. I'm not saying goodbye quite yet." Kira managed a tiny genuine smile and looked at Ariana. "Thanks." She said. Ariana just acknowledged it with a curt nod and looked up as they arrived. "We're here!" She said happily and opened the doors. Every single one of the Gym Leaders heads swivelled to face them and Lance stood up. "Kira, Morty. Who is this? This is a closed meeting, may I remind you." Kira narrowed her eyes at him and replied "One, that tone is not appreciated with me. Two, she knows the tale of the Marble Pieces. A different version from Morty's book. And I'd say it fits." Everyone was now interested, and staring at Ariana. Obviously she got self-conscious and hid behind Kira. "Um, hi." She squeaked, peering around Kira's arm. Kira sighed and side-stepped, revealing Ariana. Ariana gulped and stood up straight. Everyone waited for her to say something. "Um, m-my names i-is A-Ariana M-Mayla, a-and I k-know the o-original t-tale of t-the M-Marble P-Pieces." She said. "How do we know she's not lying?" Clair said, obviously disliking the idea of someone invading the meeting so easily. Kira shrugged. "We don't." She said simply. Clair looked surprised that Kira didn't even try to reason. Obviously she didn't pay too much attention throughout those three years. "T-Then why should she be here?! She could just want to get in!" Kira shrugged. "Risky news is better than guessed news. We need all the clues we can get."

"Well, can she explain where she got this important piece of information and how she knew we needed it?!" Ariana fidgeted and mumbled her next words. "There's an Elder in New Bark Town who told me."

"Well then, we should go visit this Elder to confirm the tale. Make sure Ariana here didn't get anything wrong. After all, wrong news is worse than guessed or risky news all together, right?" Kira blinked calmly and didnt respond. Ariana was too scared to talk at all and panicked. 'Oh Arceus, what do I say?! There is no Elder and if I make an excuse, they won't believe me. They'll see right through it!' Clair raised her eyebrows. "Well? Would you take us to this 'Elder' or won't you?" Ariana fiddled with the edge of her skirt. "Um..." Suddenly Kira grabbed Ariana's shoulder in her right hand and Morty's shoulder in her left and dragged them both into the back room of the Gym without a word. The Gym Leaders blinked in surprise. "... That was weird." Bugsy concluded, looking around at the other Gym Leader's expressions.


	9. Chapter 8: Sinnoh

~{ Michaela Roberts / Pebble }~

"P-Pebble?!" Serena stuttered. Guess she forgot that I was Canalave Gym Leader. That or she never knew in the first place. "Pebble? As in a rock?" Maylene asked in confusion. "What pebble? Serena, what are you going on about?" Flint said, completely baffled. "U-Um... H-Hi! My n-name is Michaela. N-Nice to meet you!" Michaela said, holding out her hand as though they had never met. "R-Right. Michaela. Sorry, you, um, looked like someone I once knew." Michaela nodded. "I-It's fine. So, I'm sorry I'm late. I, uh... had a challenger." Gardenia waved it off. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. You're not that late anyway, since I didn't set a specific time." Michaela smiled with relief and, after hesitating for a few seconds, sat down between Roark and Crasher Wake as all the Gym Leaders, Elite Four and the Champion sat down in a circle to discuss the situation at hand. Serena sat on the opposite side of the circle from Michaela, between Aaron and Flint, and eyed her uncertainly. Michaela shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and Serena took the hint and looked away. "So, you all heard the basic idea of why you're here. Apparently a team called Team Plasma, who originates from Unova, is trying to seize all of the regions. They're trying to do this through some tale called 'The Marble Pieces'. Has anyone found out anything about this tale?" Gardenia said looking around the room. Her eyes lingered on Michaela for a moment, making Michaela extremely nervous. Thank Arceus, she moved on before Michaela could have a panic attack. Unfortunately Volkner noticed this and asked "Michaela, how about you? Do you know anything?" Michaela's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. "No, no, no! How would I know anything?! I've never even heard of this tale!" She said, panicking. Volkner raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Of course!" Michaela rushed. Then again, Michaela was never really that good at lying. "Michaela! No lying!" Candice yelled. Michaela faced her quickly. "But I'm not!" She rushed. No one believed her. It was so obvious. "I think she's telling the truth." Everyone stared at the owner of the voice and Serena shrugged. "I believe her then. Serena is good at this stuff. There's a reason we chose her for the Elite Four." Flint sat back in his chair and Serena smiled at him. "I trust Serena. If she says Michaela isn't lying, then she isn't lying." Serena winced the tiniest bit at this comment but luckily no one aside from Michaela noticed. Cynthia nodded in approval and turned to Lucian. "Lucian, you have quite a few books. Do you have any on this tale?" Lucian shook his head and Michaela sighed inwardly with relief as the attention directed away from her thanks to Serena and Cynthia. Cynthia frowned. "Perhaps we should search online? Has anyone tried?" Michaela blinked in surprise as Serena spoke again with an innocent, happy look on her face. Cynthia grinned. "A fine idea Serena. " What was Serena doing? The Elder had told them to avoid the topic of the tales. But she's suggesting where to find the tale. Has she turned disobedient over these three years? Candice was pulling out her laptop from her bag when Michaela called out "Hey, I might do a drink run. Does anyone want anything? If that's ok with Gardenia that is." I said, nodding to said Gym Leader who replied with a shrug and a smile. "I don't mind. Could you grab me a glass of water?" Michaela nodded and turned to everyone else. "Anyone else?" In the end Candice, Gardenia and Crasher Wake wanted a glass of water, Fantina wanted some lemonade, Cynthia asked for tea and after a few minutes of deciding and a little hurrying from Candice, Flint decided on some apple juice out of apple or orange. "That's six glasses. I can't carry that many. Could someone come with me to help carry?" Michaela looked around and stopped her gaze on Serena. "Ah, maybe Serena can help while you guys search? Is that ok, Serena?" Serena caught onto her plan and nodded. "Sure thing! Be right back." Together they walked into the back room closed the door behind them, ever so quietly so that no one noticed. "What was that?!" Michaela whispered loudly as soon as the door clicked shut. Serena frowned. "Do you want the door open?" Michaela facepalmed and tried again. "No. When you told them where to find the tale. Why did you do that?" Serena made an 'o' shape with her mouth. "Oh, that. Don't worry, they won't find anything."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Don't you remember? When Forest got curious and asked 'What if people find out about our tale? Like I the Internet or something?' Don't you remember the Elder's answer?" Michaela frowned in confusion as Serena pulled out 5 glasses and a tea cup from a cabinet. "What are you talking about?" Serena sighed and started pouring water into the kettle from the sink. "You don't remember. The Elder specifically said that the tale was hidden from history a long time ago for the our sake. Only she knows about it apart from us. I'm still wondering how this Team Plasma found out..." She put the kettle on boil and drifted off, her hand still firmly on the kettle handle. Michaela waited for a few seconds then clapped in front of her face to snap her out of it. "Hmm? Oh sorry." She let go of the kettle and leaned on the counter with her elbows. "How do you even remember that?" Michaela asked. Serena shrugged in response and Michaela giggled. "Three years and you still have that brilliant memory. And daydreaming habit." Serena grinned and jumped up. "Anyway, if the tale is wiped from history, I doubt they will find it on the Internet. And there's no record of who the tale is about so no one will know that we're Marble Pieces. Good, good!" She giggled, then her eyes wandered behind Michaela and she froze. "Oh no." Michaela whipped around to see a startled Flint standing at the door. "Oh... That's not good."

~{ Serena Parkers / Animal }~

"Flint?! Um, what are ya doing here?" Flint blinked in surprise. "I, um... wanted orange instead of apple. What do you mean by you're the Marble Pieces?!"

"Shh!" Michaela hushed him quickly and checked to see if anyone had heard. Luckily they were gathered on the other side of their room, gathered around a laptop. Serena faced Flint and opened her mouth but nothing came out except for a few uh's and um's. Beside her, the kettle's whistle died down and she turned away. "Oh the waters boiled! Good, Cynthia is waiting for her tea." Flint frowned. "Forget about the tea for a moment! You just said that you and Michaela were... are Marble Pieces. Does that mean... What does that mean?!" Serena looked at him, this time her gaze was a little more urgent. "Hush. Cynthia is waiting for her tea." Flint frowned and opened his mouth to ask her what she was talking about when the door opened and his mouth instantly snapped shut again. "Hey! Cynthia is still waiting for her tea!" Candice called. Only Serena could know the others well enough to know that Candice would pop in right at that moment. Serena poured the boiling water into the cup and called over her shoulder "Sorry! The water was boiling but we're nearly done." She finished of with a quick smile and Candice, satisfied, popped back into the other room. Michaela quietly shut the door behind her and turned to face Flint. "Thanks." She said. Flint blinked. "For what?"

"Not telling of course."

"Not that I know exactly what to tell."

"Good point." Michaela made an I-can't-argue-with-that face and walked over to Serena, who had, once again, fallen into a daydream. Flint let out an exasperated sigh and clapped in front of her face. Her head jerked back in surprise and she blinked. "Time?" Flint chuckled. "About a minute, I think. Now can someone explain?" Serena exchanged a look with Michaela and sighed. "There's no point in hiding it from him anymore anyways. But Michaela you can do it. I'm not telling them who I am, just yet." Serena bent down and started scanning the cabinet for some tea bags. Michaela sighed and nodded. "I guess I can. But you owe me Serena." Serena located the tea bags, shrugged and plopped one into the cup. Michaela turned to Flint, who was a little irritated that they were talking like he wasn't there. "Sorry about that. Anyway, you already heard that Serena and I are Marble Pieces. How do I put this...? Um, actually we don't have nearly enough time to explain it now anyways. Sorry. I promise I will explain later but I can't right now."

"I'd rather you explain now."

"I realise that but..."

"I do trust you but I would rather know now about how long Serena has been lying to me for and why. I deserve that much."

"Um..." Michaela looked nervously around. "Well, I can roughly answer them quickly but I doubt that you would be satisfied."

"Try me." Michaela sighed in defeat. "Fine. Serena has been lying to you since you met her. But I honestly don't know when that was. She lied because she was ordered to by the person who raised us and because you would think she had lost it and she would most likely end up in a mental asylum. Satisfied?" Flint actually wasn't but he knew the questions had been answered like she had promised and gave in straight away. "Sure. But you're explaining the rest to me later. As soon as possible. And when you do, Serena is gonna answer some questions too." Throughout this entire conversation, Serena was shifting uncomfortably but she had finished brewing the tea, putting in the milk and sugar, pouring the water in the three glasses, pouring lemonade in one glass and pouring orange juice into the last glass. Now she handed two glasses of water to Michaela, a glass of water and his orange juice to Flint and picked up the lemonade and tea herself. "We can explain more later but right now, it would be a bit suspicious if we stayed in here too long. I promise we will explain." She earnestly to Flint before using her elbow to push the door handle down then using the rest of her body to open the door. She walked into the next room, Michaela right on her heels and placed the lemonade in front of Fantina while passing the tea cup to Cynthia. Cynthia thanked her and took a sip. Michaela copied Serena with Candice and Crasher Wake and after a few moments, a glass of water plunked onto the table in front of Gardenia as Flint flopped into his seat. Serena smiled kindly and asked "Cynthia, is your tea alright? I wasn't sure how much milk and sugar to put in so I estimated." Cynthia nodded. "It's great. Good estimate. Anyway, so we took a look on all the search engines any of us know and nothing came up. It's like this tale just... vanished. There's no trace, not even a mention. Weird right?" Serena nodded, a confused look on her face. Flint was surprised at her brilliant acting skills. She looked like she honestly didn't know. "I don't know where else to look. It's odd though. This tale used to be every child's bedtime story and suddenly... Everyone just forgot it. Just makes you wonder what caused it..." Serena dazed off at the end of her sentence and Flint waited for a bit then clapped in front of her face yet again. "Time?" Was the first thing she as she snapped out of it. Flint chuckled. "5 minutes." Serena smiled. "I'm getting better!" Flint shrugged. "A bit. But if I had left you there then you would have been up an' off. Focus." Serena nodded, a cute determined look on her face. "I'm trying." Flint nodded. "Wait this was a bedtime story?" Serena nodded. "Yeah, I used to beg my mum to tell me the story but she only told me once and I've forgotten by now. Sorry, I didn't know That was important." Cynthia nodded. "So maybe we could look around for someone who once had the tale told to them. There must be someone who can remember." If only they knew.


	10. Chapter 9: Hoenn

~{ Lily Maver / Forest }~

"I just need to have a quick talk with Mina!" Lily dragged Mina into the back room and closed the door. She would have locked it but there was no lock installed. Lily turned to face Mina and said quietly "What are you doing here?"

"My voice."

"The voice?"

" Yep. The voice."

"Does that mean..."

"Yep. Fate meant for this. We were supposed to meet again."

"Has your voice told you why exactly?" Mina rolled her eyes. "Has it ever? It just tells me what to do and nothing else. It can get annoying sometimes. What do we do?"

"About what?"

"All the Gym Leaders, Elite Four and even the Champion is looking for the tale we both have in our head. Do we tell them or don't we?"

"Are you crazy?! We can't tell them! If we did, they'd think we were insane! Steven would probably be ready to drag us off to the funny farm! Plus that would involve them in the legend and you know very well that we can't do that to anyone whether they're a trusted friend or a national wanted criminal." Mina closed her eyes and nodded. "You're right. I don't know what I was thinking." Lily smiled, satisfied that Mina wasn't thinking crazy thoughts anymore. "Better. Now we should jut pretend we know nothing then separate again. This was most likely a coinci-" Mina interrupted her. "No. Don't you say coincidence. Things like coincidences don't happen to us. You very well know that. We don't separate. I will stand for not telling but I'm not going against Fate. Not today, not ever." Lily blinked in surprise, still pondering on what her reaction should be. "Trust me. The voice wanted me here. It rushed me so much today I nearly slapped myself out of annoyance." Lily frowned. "Ok then... We'll stay together I guess. Which hotel are you in?" Mina waved it off. "I'll take you there later. I didn't really bother looking at the name." Lily shrugged and nodded. "Ok, I'm good. Should we go back in?" Lily reached for the door handle when suddenly Mina latched onto her wrist and yanked back a little, so that her hand never reached the handle. "Wait! We should probably figure out an excuse, as to why you dragged me into a closet to talk in private." Lily mentally facepalmed herself for not thinking of that before and took a step away from the door. "You're right. So what should we tell them?" Mina held up a finger to say wait a moment and put on a thinking look. Lily waited patiently, also thinking about what . "Um... Oh! I've got it." Man exclaimed before she grabbed Lily's wrist and pulled her into the other room before she could protest. Mina dragged Lily over to the confused crowd made up of Gym Leaders, Elite Four and the Champion. "Hi there! Sorry about that! We're ready now!" She said, smiling. "Um, Lily? Why did you drag her in there?" Flannery asked, curiously. "Um..." Lily shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to say since Mina never told her the explanation. She was very grateful when Mina cut in. "Oh, she just wanted my autograph! Turns out she's a fan like you!" Lily was stunned. "Really? That's cool! Did you see her performance in Lilycove?" Mina smiled. "Huh? Oh, um, yes I did! it was, um... awesome?" Mina patted Lily on the back. "Yep! She is a huge fan alright! She new about all of my performances and said she loved them all!" Lily glared at her, thinking 'She is having way too much fun with this...' "But, as much as I love the compliments, I really must leave. I don't want to intrude on an important meeting." Flannery frowned. " But I thought you would tell us anything you know abut the tale?" Mina waved the thought off. "I would but I don't know a thing. Dearly sorry but I will tell you if I learn anything." Norman narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said you had heard of it before. A long time ago?" Mina hesitated. "I remember it being mentioned, yes I said that, but it was so long ago I cannot remember a thing. I thought if I reflected that maybe I could remember something but it was too far back. I'm sorry." Norman peered at her suspiciously but Flannery cut in before he could accuse a thing. "It's fine! We can't ask you to do something that you cannot! It would be unfair of us. Good luck with your travels." Mina smiled and bid farewell. Lily frowned. Something was telling her, they shouldn't separate. Not yet anyway. That Mina shouldn't be alone at this time. She shook it off as Mina opened the door. She turned and waved. The feeling grew stronger. Mina turned back around. The feeling continued to grow. She took a step out the door. The feeling was overwhelming now. The door clicked shut and Lily almost gasped at the sense, that Mina was not safe. She darted to the door and yanked it open, to the other gym leaders' surprise. "Wait! Perhaps I should walk you home. These streets are not nice to people after dark." Everyone but Mina was stunned. Mina just looked relieved, even though the others couldn't see it, due to the fact that Mina was already a few seps down the street. "Yes, thank you. I would love some company." The feeling died down a little but didn't fade quite yet. Lily quickly waved goodbye to the astonished Gym Leaders and closed the door before they could ask any questions. "Lets go. Now." Lily rushed her. Flannery poked her head out the door just as they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Once they were out of earshot, Mina sighed with relief. "Phew! I thought I was going to have to face whatever comes to me, by myself! Thank goodness that feeling overwhelmed you. Um, no offence that is." Lily waved it off, knowing what she meant. "None taken. What do you think the feeling was about?" Mina opened her mouth to answer then paused. "Actually we might find out now. Where are all the people?" Lily frowned. "What do you mean?" Mina motioned around them. "Are there any people on the streets? Any at all?" Lily glanced around them, but could locate no one. It seemed they were alone. "Yes. It seems we are alone. The key word is 'seems' in that sentence. You see, if we are truly alone... Then why do I hear someone's thoughts?"

~{ Mina Celtric }~

When should we strike? Do we need more people? Nah. The commander trusted us two. They seem to be looking around for something. Have they realised we're tagging them? Of course not. They couldn't of seen us. Unless they had x-ray vision. But if they did, they would have located us by now. So why are they confused? The thoughts flooded into Mina's head. Someone's thoughts were racing, and they were thinking about Lily and Mina. Mina could sense another mind there, but she couldn't locate where both of them were. 'DANGER! DANGER! Be ready! Be ready!' Her voice was howling inside of her, but no matter how much it cried 'Danger' or 'Be ready', Mina just didn't know what to be ready for. Lily looked panicked at her statement, and her gaze was darting around, trying to sight anyone nearby but Mina knew it was of no use. The followers had hidden themselves from sight and weren't going to come out until they thought it was time. "Lily. Calm down. You're only giving us away." Lily glanced at Mina and obeyed as best as she could. "Ok. I'm calm. Now, what do we do?" She asked, walking as though she thought they were safe again. Mina kept pace and replied "Wait for them to reveal themselves? I can't do anything until..." She trailed off as suddenly her inside voice stopped. "What? What's wrong?" Mina didn't reply. '... Left. Look. Left. Look. Left. Look. Now!' Mina whipped around to her left just as a shadow leapt out at her. A quick jab to the side and it lost balance and fell. The shadow turned out to be a man. Mina could that he was the same man, whose thoughts she had accessed. 'Behind! Behind! Protect! Protect! Sister!' Mina spun around and yanked her sister to the side as another shadow jumped out behind Lily. "Good reflexes, Miss Mina Celtric. The psychic element right? And she's the plants element, isn't she?" Mina froze and Lily was the first to answer. "We'll find an answer to that when you find a cliff to jump off of."

"My, my. Snappy aren't we?"

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Lily snapped her comebacks with sass, her eyes narrowed the entire time. Mina shook of her surprise and glared at the girl. She just smirked. "I'm getting some negative vibes from you two. Now, what have I done to deserve that?"

"You know, you're right. I'll start making the list." She chuckled. "You girls definitely have some spice there. I'm not sure whether to be annoyed or to be praising you, Mina and Lily. Or should I say Psy and Forest?" That surprised the sisters a little, as the only person who knew their real names were the Elder and Arceus himself. So how she find out...? "Surprised are we? Shouldn't be. I'm courteous enough to address my fellow citizens by their names." Lily glared. "Just not courteous enough to mind people's privacy. Or keep a nice tone." She smiled. "Perhaps. But hey, not everyone is perfect. We all have our flaws. So what are yours?"

"Private."

"Now, now, pride is a sin you know."

"So is greed."

"Who said I was greedy?"

"Who said I was prideful?" The girl narrowed her eyes mischievously. "Worthy opponents indeed. Enough chit chat. You're coming with us." Mina's eyes flashed. "Says who?" The girl threw up a pokeball, which released an Altaria. The guy beside her, who had gotten up during their little chat, let out a Hariyama. "Says me! Altaria, whirlwind!" She called. Mina quickly let out Goth while Lily let out a Tropius. The boy yelled out "Hariyama, use Force Palm!

"Goth, use Psychic!"

"Tropical, use Razor Leaf!" Altaria swept up a large whirlwind with a few beats of its wings and sent it towards Goth. Goth's eyes lit up purple and the whirlwind glowed purple before turning and rushing backs towards Altaria. It called out "Altaria!" while flapping its wings to try to avoid the attack but it was too late and the whirlwind smashed into Altaria, sending it flying backwards. Beside them, Hariyama was throwing a strong Force Palm towards Tropical only to be stopped with a bunch of sharp leaves cutting its body, throwing it back beside Altaria. "Tough. Of course, I anticipated that. I would have this battle longer but I'm in a bit of a hurry." The girl smirked and pointed at Lily. "Gang up and repeat!"

"Huh?" Lily took a step back as both pokemon instantly faced her. Altaria was first to move, hurling a whirlwind directly at Lily. "Tropical! Help!" She helped, trying to dodge the whirlwind. Her Tropius jumped forward and knocked it away with a Solarbeam. Unfortunately, while it was dealing with that, Hariyama had powered up a Force Palm again, and was now charging towards Lily. Mina noticed instantly and had already started running to her side. "Lily! Watch out! Goth!" Lily turned around but it was too late to dodge. Right at the last minute, a figure leapt in front of her, taking the entire blow. Lily could only watch in horror as Mina crumpled to the ground.


	11. Chapter 10: Unova

~{ Kiki Malina / Storm }~

Kiki stared at Angel, who stood in front of her, staring back. "So this is Angelika Tanos, also known as Angel. She's the champion and she'll be the one to decide whether you're innocent or just a dirty lier. Then we'll decide together what your punishment for intruding will be." Roxie smirked. "So, how much did I miss exactly?" Skyla quickly filled in the details of me intruding while Kiki waited nervously. Angel and Kiki weren't exactly those loving and caring sisters like the others. Kiki had been fine with the others and so had Angel but they didn't really get along with each other. Who knows what 'punishment' Angel will give to her. Due to her being the champion, anything goes. "Ok..." Here it comes... "I say..." Wait for it... "We let her go." Wow. That was unexpected. "What?!" Roxie did not look happy. "We can't just let this slide! She interrupted a very important closed meeting and insulted a gym leader!" She ranted. Angel held up a hand. "I haven't gone soft if that's what you're implying." She said, narrowing her eyes at Roxie who shook her head in return. "Of course not! I'm just saying she needs to learn her lesson."

"She's innocent. I can see it in her eyes. Now she can leave. Now." Everyone, including Kiki, looked very surprised. "What?" Angel said icily. "Um, are you ok today Angel? No fever or headaches?" Skyla asked while Shauntal proceeded to check the temperature of Angel's forehead with her hand. "I'm fine! Shauntal stop that!" Angel, slapped Shauntal's hand away, not strongly enough to injure but strong enough for it to hurt. "Ow! It's her alright. And her temperature is fine." Shauntal said, while shaking her aching hand. Angel glared at them all. "Fine! If ya wanna punish her, then punish her! What's the point of asking my input if none of ya are gonna listen..." She snapped, rolling her eyes for the last part. "It isn't th-" Roxie cut in before Drayden could finish the sentence. "Brilliant! Ya heard her! We can punish Kiki for intruding. " Kiki did not like the sound of that. "Actually, she said we can punish her if we want to. And I believe that Kiki did not hear anything nor mean to spy on us like Angel said." Cheren said. Kiki blinked gratefully at him then stood, waiting for the other gym leaders' input. "I say we set her free. We already scared the livin day lights out of her with this punishment talk."

"Same here!" Clay agreed followed by Skyla. "No harm done." Shauntal said, smiling. Marlon, Elesa, Drayden, Marshal, Grimsley, Caitlyn and Iris all agreed. Only Roxie said otherwise. "Are ya all serious? Gosh, what a bunch of softies." She huffed, finally giving in. Kiki let out a sigh of relief and Iris smiled at her. "We believe ya! If you want to leave now you can." Kiki nodded and took a step to leave. But somewhere inside of her told her not to go. Not yet at least. She ignored it and kept walking to the stairs until... "Wait! Actually you can leave right after you answer this question." Kiki sighed. So close. "What do you know about the tale, The Marble Pieces?" That Kiki definitely did not expect. Slowly she turned around and stiffly shook her head. It was lain obvious that it was a lie. "Kiki, we are just trying to help our region. If you know anything, you must tell us." Cheren reasoned and Kiki nodded in agreement. Behind Cheren, Angel looked awfully pale at the mention of the tale and a sort of fear took form in the depths of her gaze. Kiki knew Angel was terrified she would start spouting all the information to them but an overwhelming desire to prove her wrong took place in Kiki's heart and she strongly shook her head again. "I am sorry. I do not know of anything." She said without hesitation and Cheren frowned. "Ok, but inform us if you hear of anything?" Kiki and replied with "Sure." before heading out quickly. Finally... She thought. "I don't believe her! Did you see that face?! Lets get her back here to answer up question truthfully! Angel! You won't let this pass right?!" Behind Kiki, Roxie yelled in an outrage. Kiki rushed out before they called her back once again.

~{ Angelika Tanos / Blizzard }~

Angelika watched Kiki hurry away with a relieved feeling, yet at the same time, that feeling was battling another one. A feeling that said 'don't let her go just yet' but why on earth would that feeling mean anything? Kiki could take care of herself, right? Right? "Angel? You ok?" Shauntal interrupted Angel's train of thought worriedly. Angel waved it off and turned to the rest of them. "Sorry bout that. Now, the Marble Pieces ya say? What's that?

"That's what we're trying to find out, ya see. Skyla got it out of a grunt but he escaped before we could question 'im. They been sorta cautious since then though so we haven't been able to get another to question." Clay explained. "This is totally boring! I'm going to be in the back!" Roxie burst out, stamping to the back room and slamming the door behind her. Angel sighed on exasperation and turned to the others. "Ok, you guys research, I'm going to calm her do- Ah!" Angel gasped as a pain in her chest erupted. It was that feeling, the one that didn't want her to leave Kiki alone. "Angel! What wrong?! Angel?!" Everyone instantly rushed to Angel's side. Skyla seemed quite panicked while Shauntal ran to get water. "What on earth is going on out-?! Here...?" Roxie burst into the room looking quite angry. That was until she saw Angel gasping and leaning over like she couldn't move or breath. "W-What's wrong with her?! Why is she like that?!" Roxie questioned, notmsure what to do and panicking instead. Finally Angel couldn't take it anymore. She ran over to the door and slammed it open, making it swing around and crash into the wall behind it. "Be... Be right back!" Angel yelled, racing after Kiki. "Kiki! Kiki!" She screamed, not caring about the people she might wake. It was getting late now and the sun was almost hidden behind the buildings now, only just peeping over the top. "Kiki?! Where the hell are you?!" She screamed. The feeling in her chest got worse and worse until she nearly fainted. Luckily, Angel was the tough type and wouldn't give in to anything that easily. "Kiki!" A few people turned on their lights and poked their heads out of their windows to see what was going on. Some even came outside and yelled at Angel to be quiet. But Angel didnt care and kept running. "Kik...?" Angel turned a corner and froze at what she saw. Two women. Standing in a dark alley. Standing over Kiki's unconscious body. "Kiki!" Angel shrieked. "Who the hell are you?! And what did you do to Kiki?!" Angel questioned, sprinting to Kiki's side. "Oh, look. The second one finally came. Good to finally meet you, Blizzard."

"What did you do to Kiki?!" Angel snapped. She was already kneeling beside Kiki, checking her pulse. She was definitely alive, just knocked unconscious. "Kiki? Ah, you mean Storm. The tenth Marble Piece to be collected. You are last right? The eleventh piece. The last to the key."

"Don't give me that! What did you do to my sister?!" The first woman, a blonde with vibrant blue eyes, smirked. "Sister? Are you Marble Pieces able to make such connections? My, you're just objects, needed to create a far greater and powerful object. How can you even feel?" Angel gritted her teeth and rose slowly. "You don't even remember the words of my... Our tale." The woman's smirk faded. "What?" Angel looked up and looked her straight in the eye, running on pure and absolute rage. "Our tale clearly states that the Marble Pieces are girls, chosen for this task by fate... Pure, human girls. We feel. We touch. And we form connections. Those who try to temper with fate, has the whole world working against them. Lets see you win against fate and the future itself!" For a moment, the woman wavered, suddenly unsure of her position. But she regained her posture quickly. "Such big words. Can your actions match them?!" Angel took a bold step forward.

"Fine! Bring it on! Give me all you got! You may have numbers. Or strength. Or even identity. Whatever you've got, you still won't beat us. We are the warriors of fate, and we aren't handing this world or any other one, over to the likes of you!"


End file.
